Road to Perdition - a Full Review

Micheal Sullivan Junior (Tyler Hoechlin) is a family man, thought to be a decent man by some people while to others, he is just the opposite. The story is about a relationship between a son & a father in the Road to Perdition (2002) movie. His father, Micheal Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is an Irish American mobster "hitman" in 1931 Chicago & the story is about his experience with his father being the unexpected fugitives from the mob in the longest six days of their lives. The movie also shows the results of the unexpected twist, mistakes & wrongful decision of the Irish mob which led to their own demise in the Road to Perdition movie.

His son, Micheal Junior (Tyler Hoechlin) somehow follows his father in the back of the car. He witnesses a killing initiated by his shady colleague, Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) & which his father inadvertently participated in order to save his own life. It is the beginning of the family's horrors in the Road to Perdition movie. Having Connor seated opposite his father John (Paul Newman) on the meeting table would represent him as being the opposite mirror character of the leader yet similarly powerful. As the scene suggests, it would seem that Connor is on his way to take over the Irish mob as a leader in the Road to Perdition movie.

Micheal Sullivan (Tom Hanks), being a hitman & non organizational participant of the Irish mob, sits outside the meeting table which suggests that he is an outside hand & can be instructed to take out any one of the people including the Irish mob leader himself & Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) too. Of course, the implication could go the other way & it does in the Road to Perdition Movie. Micheal is betrayed by the people closest to him. The betrayal in my opinion is intense & it can make you feel excited to see how the story explodes at the end. Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) has Micheal Sullivan's (Tom Hanks) family killed because his son witnessed him committing a murder. I do not know how it is a reason for an entire family to be killed but silly as the story is, Tom Hanks makes the Road to Perdition movie worth watching.

It is not often one can watch Tom Hanks carry a serious, mobster role. Micheal Sullivan is on his own now, hunted down by his employer, colleagues, the rest of the Irish mob, & a hired assassin. Micheal brings his surviving son to Chicago to meet with a former employer. He wants to kill Connor Rooney & whoever else is responsible for the death of his wife & other son. Another gifted assassin, Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) is hired by the Irish mob to kill Micheal Sullivan & is hot on his trail. Micheal Sullivan (Tom Hanks) goes on a bank robbing spree with his son as the escape driver. He steals all the money belonging to Al Capone from various banks in the Illinois state.

In a firefight at a hotel, while retrieving important business files from Al Capone's accountant, Micheal manages to injure Harlen but fails to kill him when he has the chance. I reckon he does not want take the risk of going against a man with a bigger gun which is probably something he realized in his experience as a hitman. During the getaway, Harlen shot Micheal in the arm with his pistol in the Road to Perdition movie. The shooting of the Irish mob leader, John (Paul Newman) by Micheal Sullivan (Tom Hanks) was a scene was out of the ordinary. The shooting of his bodyguards were silent. There was only the background music. It brought out the final moments of suspense for the Irish mob leader being alive. It is as though it made the moments in the Road to Perdition movie slow down a little bit.

Finally, Micheal Sullivan (Tom Hanks) kills the murderer of his wife & son, Conner Rooney (Daniel Craig). Unfortunately Micheal becomes killed by Harlen (Jude Law) in what was an unexpected ending but an expected portrayal of his final moments. Looking at the calm view of the sea, the waves; Micheal senior begets his death in the Road to Perdition movie. Death calls out to him like the inevitable sound of waves bursting on the sea shores. His son, Micheal Sullivan Junior (Tyler Hoechlin) manages to point a gun at Harlen but fails to pull the trigger in the Road to Perdition movie. Instead, the dying Micheal Senior shoots him & is happy to at least know that his son is unable to kill another man for whatever the reason including to avenge his own father's death. The person who has gained everything is probably his previous employer whom he met in Chicago. The movie has plenty of emotions but lacks the intricate appeal of the Godfather movie so I doubt there is going to be a sequel for the Road to Perdition movie.