Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

rooprect Since the dawn of time, or at least since 1592 ("Dr. Faustus" by Marlowe), the tale of a person selling their soul to the Devil in exchange for success has intrigued and thrilled audiences. Whether historically accurate in the case of "Elvis", here we have an interesting spin on that old theme.I'm not an Elvis aficionado, I don't even own any of his albums, but my mom was a big fan. That's what got me interested in this acclaimed miniseries (worthy of its praise), but what hooked me was the subtle Faustian theme which was brilliantly pulled off by Randy Quaid as the mysterious cajun "The Colonel" who is shown to be responsible for Elvis' pyrotechnic rise to stardom as well as, you guessed it, his rude awakening.What made this a unique telling of the classic myth is that The Colonel is not shown to be a fiendish "devil" out to snare Elvis' soul. Instead, The Colonel is almost emotionless, impartial, a stoic mirror of human ambition without any cartoonish fire & brimstone. Near the beginning of the film he asks Elvis what he wants. And by golly he gives Elvis exactly that, no tricks.In that sense, there is no villain in this film. Only human nature. It reminds me of the Steinbeck short story "The Pearl" where a poor family finds a valuable pearl, and what you would expect to be a miracle turns out to be far less.Reading these reviews, I see that fans of Elvis loved it. Jonathan Rhys Meyers did a great job, bore a striking resemblance to The King, and had the lip curl down pat. Elvis is portrayed in a favorable light, despite his flaws, and the music is great. I do think the story could have been a bit grittier, getting more into the drug abuse that eventually killed Elvis. But that was beyond the scope of this family-friendly film which takes up only as far as 1968. There are some strong references to his drug use and accompanying fits of violence. But for the most part, this film centers around his early years and relationship with his family (particularly his kindly mother) and his closest friends. And of course, there's the best part: The Colonel.This is a great film for any aspiring musicians, or ambitious people of all careers. Especially in this day & age when we are hearing about so many tragic celebrities in the news who got everything they wanted except fulfillment, "Elvis" is timeless. The story of ambition and success applies today just as it did 50 years ago. And I'm reminded of a great line from the Irish movie Kisses, "There is no devil. Just people."

ukguy992010 Just as elections are ultimately all about the economy, casting in biopics is ultimately all about looks and physical resemblance, and, no matter how satisfactory the performance may be in various regards, it will, in the end, all hinge on that. Jonathan Rhys-Myers is, without doubt, a very handsome young man. On a scale of one to ten, he'd easily rate 9 - more than enough in any normal real-life situation (club, party, disco) to have the girls flocking around you like wasps around a honey pot (and, let's be honest, far too good-looking to play Henry VIII!).Now here's the problem: the guy that he aims to portray, on the same 1-10 scale, was about a 14 - another league altogether, in which, basically, a 9 just doesn't cut it. Sorry, Jon, to have to be so brutally frank, but you can take comfort from the fact that what you're attempting is nigh-on impossible. Many other handsome Hollywood actors (most notably, Kurt Russell) have tried and failed even more miserably.In fact, there is only one actor I can think of offhand who could convincingly portray Elvis Presley on screen. Sadly, however, he's been unavailable for about 33 years...

akmike Noting the rather high esteem given this production by IMDb voters, I wonder how many have ever seen the 1979 production "Elvis", starring Kurt Russell, and lovingly produced by Dick Clark. It is superior in every way to the 2005 film, but particularly in the performance of Russell, who may have done his finest work as an actor in recreating the "King". I am an Elvis fan, but not enough of a die-hard (I guess) to give a high rating to a movie, simply because of the subject matter. Perhaps the younger generation of Elvis fans have not had the opportunity to view the '79 version as it hasn't been made available on DVD. But, even if you have to lower yourself to an old VHS tape, you will find it well worth the effort !

Katrina Gubbins As i am only a 17 yr old i only know of the legend that is Elvis and have heard his music. Without knowing much about his life and the truth behind the voice this series shows people of all age the truth. I found this mini series as great insight into the life and legend of Elvis. I believe Ryhs-Myers looks a lot like young Elvis and this helps captives the audience. As we are able to determine that this show is in fact about Elvis and it is not just a rip off. This also en-captures the audience because they don't want some phony movie, they want something authentic. The use of real life recordings of Elvis singing is excellent, although some of the timing is a bit off but u can still get the effect the producers are trying to put forward. I thought the ending was a bit poor, but apart from that i thoroughly enjoyed the Elvis 'movie.'