I was really looking forward to this as I'd heard so many rave reviews. But Man on Wire was only okay. The movie is over-long, heavy on shadowy reconstruction and boring interviews, and totally fails to capture the awesome nature of the feat performed, which is served only by contemporaneous stills.
The central character is not appealing enough to engage us, and reminded me of Malcolm Maclaren, which can never be a good thing. Like so many men who are driven to perform spectacular feats, he comes over as having been self-centred and demanding in the pursuit of his dream.
I was looking at my watch within 20 minutes of the start, and feel that the good basic story would have been better served by a 45 minute TV documentary.
The central character is not appealing enough to engage us, and reminded me of Malcolm Maclaren, which can never be a good thing. Like so many men who are driven to perform spectacular feats, he comes over as having been self-centred and demanding in the pursuit of his dream.
I was looking at my watch within 20 minutes of the start, and feel that the good basic story would have been better served by a 45 minute TV documentary.