Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

lord woodburry This film is based loosely on (a) US sponsored psychological experiment in which a prominent psychiatrist ran amok creating a prison in the basement of a noted liberal University. It follows in the steps of a German film Das Experiment (2001), highlighting lack of originality in the US theatre.Very different from from the real life experiment in which the participants, recruited from students between semesters received rather chincy emoluments, the movie version claims that the test subjects, were offered stupendous incentives for their collaboration.The film correctly states that volunteers were assigned roles and that as the experiment went on the participants fell into the roles that were given them. Like the German film, the experiment devolves into ever increasing dosages of violence.In the US version, the feel good ending is even better than the German version. Travis (Adrien Brody) one of the prisoners has such a will to resist the torture and degradation that he busts out. Everyone follows him and they all receive their handsome checks.In real life, there was no busting out but there was some busting back in. Some who had under intimidation quit the experiment returned and applied to be re-instated. They had formed a camaraderie with the others in the project and wanted to see it through.In the film version the consequences for the authors of this fiendish experiment was severe. In an investigation that follows, the mad scientist, a rather small and squat gnomish sort behind the experiment, is indicted.In real life nothing of the kind occurred. Jocularly speaking of the escapade a quarter century later, the real life psychiatrist hosted a US sponsored college course on psychology.

Hillary D This movie actually angers me. It is so completely ridiculous it's infuriating! I have never seen the original version of this movie but I believe it's better than this one because how could anything be worse than this movie?First of all, since everyone in this movie, guards and prisoners alike, is motivated by money, why wouldn't they at least all TRY to get through 24 hours with civility. There is no possible way that I can wrap my head around the guards (who aren't really guards) getting inflamed egos and big heads within 1 day, let alone the escalation by day 5. I mean really, by day 5, FIVE!, a guard already wants a blow job from an inmate? Really. And there are no cameras in that room? How could they have a room with no cameras if they have all these rules? And what about all the violence that they ignored? That red light should have been on when Whithaker kicked Brody over in the chair.The character development is nonexistent and the writing is terrible. Definitely one of the top ten worst movies I have ever seen.

Film Watchin Fool Watch this if...you enjoy psychological thrillers, but don't expect this to blow you away. It is very run of the mill for this genre.Acting/Casting: 6.5* - Brody and Whitaker don't disappoint in the lead protagonist and antagonist roles. The supporting cast also gives a pretty solid performance and this is the strongest area of the film.Directing/Cinematography/Technical: 5.5* - This is a well put together film, but does seem to have some spots that are a little slow. I also felt the ending was a bit abrupt, which took away from the movie overall.Plot/Characters: 5* - A group of research participants are put in a prison and split into groups of guards and prisoners. They are told to obey certain rules or no one will be paid. However, the envelope is pushed leading to extreme circumstances and the situation eventually comes to a head. The premise is intriguing, but I was hoping for more after watching it.Entertainment Value: 6* - I enjoyed the movie, but I guess I went into it with some high expectations. It isn't a must-see movie, but might be worth checking out if you see it while flipping through the channels on TV.My Score: 6.5+5.5+5+6 = 23/4 = 5.75Email your thoughts to filmwatchinfool@gmail.com

qwert36985 Look, I'm a type of guy who doesn't like to get pretentious. Give me a black-and-white Dawn of the Dead and a color version of Dawn of the Dead, and I'll definitely pick the latter.The people complaining about the Hollywood remake in THIS movie, though, going on and on about the movie **dare I say it?** Das Experiment, are kinda like those guys who'd go for the black and white version of Dawn of the Dead.Don't get me wrong-- that's understandable. Some people like the plots and scripts in old versions. I can buy that.What I CAN'T buy, though, is giving this movie a 1 out of 10 because Das Experiment was better. I mean, dude, the acting was God-driven, and I have never been so angry at a character in my life. When I saw that crazy Whitaker get that hell-pounding from Adrien Brody at the end, I felt a burst of adrenaline pulsing straight through my brain and just jumping up and down. I have not experienced that kind of satisfaction in a long time.Look, the movie's great. Tension, check. Atmosphere, check. Acting, double check. The only things that bothered me were a couple of plot holes and the abrupt ending. I was kinda hoping they'd show more of what happened after. I get that the movie was based on the Stanford Experiment, but plenty of fact driven movies have blended creative elements in for entertainment.But dammit, the movie was great. You're missing out big time if you don't watch it. Yeah, I get it, you guys think the German Das Experiment film was the real thing. But remakes don't always have to be crap, and The Experiment was amazing on its own.Conclusion: think of all those 1 out of 10 rate reviews that mention Das Experiment as people who like the black and white version of Dawn of the Dead. They're just trying to sound smart.