SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

androdgynouscholeric I loved The Chocolate War from the moment I picked it up. The book, I mean. As a writer, this bleak piece of work changed my perspective.Of course, when I discovered there was a movie, I jumped at the idea of viewing it.Now, the movie took me on a roller coaster. At first, I was disappointed with the outdated soundtrack, bizarre dream sequences and the like, but then, the moment Archie appeared, I was sucked in. This movie followed every little detail it could, and I found myself smiling and waiting for the brutal conclusion.--Spoiler-- Like the majority consensus, the ending rattled me.Now, let me first say the ending is moderate for someone who has not read the book. In the event the novel had never existed, the bittersweet note of the ending would have sufficed. Been a little iffy, but sufficed. However, taking that single 90 degree rotation, to having read and adored Cormier's novel, and all Hell breaks loose in my brain.Cormier's theme was trampled. That is, that sometimes cruelty does win and goodness does not always triumph. Even then, however, I would have remained a shred of sanity concerning that ending.Furthermore, however, was that Archie had to explode out of character. He had it worked out, Archie had it together. Archie doesn't like physical violence. Archie always has a plan. Even if he has to improvise. So, from this, Archie wouldn't have let such a situation ever happen to begin with.Then, Archie had to turn into a cardboard cut-out of a villain by breaking the rules and wailing on Jerry after one blow. It seemed to me that Gordon realized Archie was so much more likable than Jerry, that only turning Archie into a simp who broke rules would redeem Jerry. It all came off as plastic, though. Archie is a simp, he can't fight, but he's also so much a simp that he can't take one blow.This part of the movie negates everything Archie had come to be throughout he film, and novel.And then, he is demoted for losing his head.Now, if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Brother Leon and Janza were so *proud* of Jerry for beating the crap out of Archie. Excuse me, what happened to the cruel Brother Leon we saw with Bailey? Or Corone? Whwere did he go? I didn't know he hated Archie so much as to root for Jerry, who could have cost him his job and such, had ARCHIE not saved his ass.And Janza? Who beat the crap out of Jerry a half hour before (movie time)? Who was ready to beat up Jerry again? Why, pray tell, does he then cheer on Jerry? It was just dreck. It didn't make sense in the constructs of the movie itself, let alone Cormier's masterpiece.I gave it an 8/10 because I still enjoy watching the movie. I just turn it off after Archie draws that first marble.

jerseyexit10 This film was not along the same lines as the ordinary (David conquers Goliath) high school film of the 80's. And for that respect was probably appreciated by anyone who had experiences of being bullied when they were growing up. Though it has been said that the film was not as good as the actual book, I think the adaption made its point and the lesson was learned. Many of the young people in this world who are fornunate enough to see it, even if by accident, will understand that they are not alone. There are others who are having an even harder time as they grow up, and that "their own life" isn't so bad after all !!!

wildchipmunk I respectfully disagree with the reviewer who said that "he (Jerry Renault) doesn't win in the end anyway." This was a moral battle -- Jerry Renault represented conscience moral choice fighting against the Vigils' frantic need to keep the corrupt but popular status quo. Jerry's will won... he did not sell chocolates. Other viewers may miss this important point: this story is not about "winning." This story is about the price we pay in order to do what is right. Cormier's story says living according to our own conscience often has a steep price -- but that it is a price infinitely worth paying.

Aussiesmurf An extremely low budget adaptation of Robert Cormier's coming-of-age novel hits most of the marks with accuracy. For the uninitiated, the plot concerns Jerry Renault, a freshman at a religious private school. He is drifting in an emotional vacuum since the death of his mother particularly due to the resulting emotional gulf between he and his father.At Jerry's school a secret society known as The Vigils plan various pranks and psychological games, known as assignments and given to various nervous freshmen such as Jerry. When a school chocolate sale becomes the focus of the Vigils and the staff, Jerry takes a seemingly futile stand against conformity that sets off many ramifications...The main things to praise about the adaptation are the acting by the various (mostly quite young) participants, and the tight script, which maintains a remarkable fidelity to the structure of Cormier's novel.MAJOR SPOILER!!!There has been much controversy concerning the ending to the movie, which is of the surface quite different from the novel. It is true that in the novel the villians go 'unpunished', while that is not the case in the movie. However, I would argue that the fate of Jerry, the protagonist is roughly the same. The point being that even if Jerry 'wins' the climactic fight, he has still really lost, because he has doomed himself by being a participant in a contest not of his making.Worth a look, but if you're studying the book at school, you'll need to read it as well.