i f you think sam mendes first film and the much herald american beauty be a movie with style to spare and wait until you see his highly anticipated second effort and the unrelentingly grim 30 gangster melodrama road to perdition . some critic have hail this new movie a a worthy successor to the godfather and a rash judgment make by several reviewer take with mr. mendes extraordinary technical prowess . if the mechanic of movie making be what make a picture great and then yes and road to perdition be a distant cousin to the godfather in term of what it achieve in cinematography and editing and music scoring and sound . what it doesn not have be a resonance that all great story and some very rare movie have that stay with the viewer long after the experience of reading or see it be over . a with american beauty and there be a cold and distance feel to this movie and despite some very tense scene involve paternal love and loyalty and betrayal . this story of a hit man ( tom hank ) and his relationship to a surrogate father figure who be also his bos and an elderly irish mob leader ( paul newman ) and seem to have be cull from innumerable gangster movie of year past . the father or son motif that hang over this picture be so heavy hand in it treatment that there be not much room for spontaneity while the entire enterprise have be very carefully wrought and and nearly all the dialog be deliver with an air of great portent represent this be obviously a gangster film and hence the requisite amount of violence and bloodshed and but the film be nearly devoid of any humor to speak of while only in scene involve a young boy drive a getaway car in a cunningly edited montage be there any sense of lightheartedness to leaven the pervasive sense of doom . that be say and i have nothing but the high praise for the stunning look of this film while indeed and it be not an overstatement to say that this be one of the most beautifully photograph and design movie i have ever see . veteran cameraman conrad hall will very likely win another oscar for his work here . the production set and costume be just a exemplary while in fact and the entire film be a technical marvel . mr. mendes continue to astonish with his vivid use of color and and he and mr. hall again make very dramatic use of red blood splatter against pale color wall and all the more effective and disconcert due to the preponderance of black and blue and gray that dominate the movie color scheme . if i have fail to duly note the acting and it be not because the actor do not purport themselves ably while everyone in the film be top notch and with special mention go to the two malevolent bad guy represent daniel craig be the classic man you love to hate and the spoiled and impulsive son of newman gangster father while and an almost unrecognizable jude law a an especially slimy miscreant who go on pursuit of hank and his son and figure very importantly in the film rivet second half . but act in a movie this dazzling be bind to take a back seat to the photographic firework on display here . if a roll royce be a movie and i have no doubt it would look like road to perdition .