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"A Perfect World" contains a prison break, the taking of a hostage, a chase across Texas, two murders, various robberies, and a final confrontation between a fugitive and a lawman. It is not really about any of those things, however. It's deeper and more interesting than that. It's about the true nature of violence and about how the child is father to the man.

The film brings together the leading icons of two generations of strong, silent American leading men: Kevin Costner , as a fugitive who takes a boy as a hostage, and Clint Eastwood , as the Texas Ranger who leads the pursuit. But the Costner character doesn't seem really focused on his escape, and the Eastwood character seems somewhat removed from the chase. These two men first met long ago, and they both know this isn't about a chase. It's about old, deep wounds.

This is a movie that surprises you. The setup is such familiar material that you think the story is going to be flat and fast. But the screenplay by John Lee Hancock goes deep. And the direction by Clint Eastwood finds strange, quiet moments of perfect truth in the story.

Both Costner and Eastwood are fresh from triumphs at the Academy Awards, but in neither " Dances with Wolves " nor " Unforgiven " will you find the subtlety and the sadness they discover here. Eastwood has directed 17 films, but his direction is sometimes taken less seriously because he's a movie star. "A Perfect World" is a film any director alive might be proud to sign.

Costner's character, Butch Haynes, is a young man who drifted into trouble and was sentenced unfairly, to get him out of the way. The Eastwood character, Red Garnett, had something to do with that and has never felt quite right about it. Escaping from prison, Haynes and another convict break in on a mother and her children at dawn. Soon they're on the road with a hostage, Phillip (T.J. Lowther), 9 or 10 years old.

Before long the other con is gone from the scene and the man and the boy are cutting across the back roads of Texas. In pursuit is Red Garnett, riding in a newfangled Airglide trailer that's a "mobile command headquarters." Garnett is saddled with a talky criminologist ( Laura Dern ) and various other types, including a sinister federal agent who is an expert marksman. The general view is that Haynes is a desperate kidnapper. Both Eastwood and Dern think, for different reasons, it isn't that simple.

And it's not. The heart of the movie is the relationship that develops between the outlaw and the kid. You can look very hard, but you won't be able to guess where this relationship is going. It doesn't fall into any of the conventional movie patterns. Butch isn't a terrifically nice guy, and Phillip isn't a cute movie kid who makes and then loses a friend.

It's not that simple. Butch, we learn, was treated badly as a boy. His father was absent, his mother was a prostitute, the men in her life didn't like him much. Butch talks vaguely about going to Alaska. But as the man and boy drive through the dusty 1963 Texas landscape, it's more like they're going in circles, while the man looks hard at the boy and tries to see what it means to be a boy, what is the right way and the wrong way to talk to one. He's trying to see himself in the kid.

There are some murders in the film, all of them off-camera.

One body is found in an auto trunk, the other in a cornfield. We don't see either killing; Eastwood stays away from the cliche of a gun firing, a body falling, and it's not until late in the film that someone is shot onscreen, and then in very particular circumstances.

But there is violence in the movie. In the film's key sequence, Butch and Phillip are given shelter for the night by a friendly black farmer (George Haynes). The next morning, Butch watches as the farmer treats his son roughly, slapping him when he doesn't behave. It's the wrong way to treat a kid, but Butch's reaction is so angry that we realize a nerve has been touched. And as a complex series of events unfolds, we discover the real subject of the movie: Treat kids right, and you won't have to put them in jail later on. The crucial violence, from which later violence springs, is when a child is treated with cruelty.

Eastwood tells the story in unexpected ways. The way Butch starts right out, for example, letting Phillip hold a gun. (But not to shoot someone with it; his reasons for doing this, in fact, are so deep that you have to think long about them.) And scenes of quirky humor involving runaway trailers, Halloween masks, barbecued steaks and other details that break the tension with a certain craziness.

(There is, for example, a scene in a roadside diner named "Dottie's Squat and Gobble," which is the best restaurant name I have ever seen in a movie.) "A Perfect World" has the elements of a crime genre picture, but the depth of thought and the freedom of movement of an art film.

You may be reminded of " Bonnie and Clyde ," " Badlands " or an unsung masterpiece from earlier in 1993, " Kalifornia ." Not because they all tell the same story, but because they all try to get beneath the things we see in a lot of crime movies and find out what they really mean.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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A Perfect World (1993)

Rated PG-13 For Violence, Sexual Content and Language

136 minutes

Kevin Costner as Butch Haynes

T.J. Lowther as Phillip Perry

Clint Eastwood as Red Garnett

Directed by

Clint Eastwood

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A Perfect World Reviews

It's an American masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 26, 2013

It will not please everyone because it presents things in shades of gray and takes few easy outs.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 8, 2012

Tells the tale of an escaped convict and his eight-year-old hostage and, in the process, considers the cycles of disappointment wrought on sons by questionable fathers: abusive ones, absent ones, even a well-meaning "daddy state." [Blu-ray]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 5, 2012

Entertaining manhunt film.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jan 6, 2012

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Sep 7, 2011

Hancock's surface-skimming script is too formulaic for the job. There's enough material here for a crisp 90-minute entertainment. At 2+ hours, the leisurely, mildly engaging A Perfect World barely sputters across the finish line.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2008

A tender, poignant, ultimately heartbreaking film filled with haunting, lasting images and nicely eccentric touches. Arguably Costner's best performance, and one of Eastwood's most underrated efforts behind the camera.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Mar 3, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 6, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 2, 2005

Right on the heels of his critical and box-office smash Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood made this outstanding, haunting tale of an escaped convict (Kevin Costner in his greatest performance), and it was completely ignored.

Full Review | Jan 15, 2005

Stark, gritty story well directred by Eastwood.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 15, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 10, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 8, 2004

Moving and totally absorbing.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 2, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 17, 2003

Never once feels like more than push-button artifice.

Full Review | Original Score: 55/100 | Aug 16, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 20, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 23, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 19, 2003

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A perfect world.

Directed by Clint Eastwood

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

Kevin Costner Clint Eastwood Laura Dern T.J. Lowther Bradley Whitford Keith Szarabajka Leo Burmester Paul Hewitt Ray McKinnon Jennifer Griffin Leslie Flowers Belinda Flowers Darryl Cox Jay Whiteaker Taylor Suzanna McBride Christopher Reagan Ammons Mark Voges Vernon Grote James Jeter Ed Geldart Bruce McGill Nik Hagler Gary Moody Mary Alice Wayne Dehart Kevin Woods Linda Hart Connie Cooper John Hussey Show All… Gabriel Folse Brandon Smith Elizabeth Ruscio

Director Director

Clint Eastwood

Producers Producers

David Valdes Mark Johnson

Writer Writer

John Lee Hancock

Casting Casting

Phyllis Huffman Liz Keigley

Editors Editors

Joel Cox Ron Spang

Cinematography Cinematography

Jack N. Green

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

L. Dean Jones Jr. Bill Bannerman

Lighting Lighting

Camera operators camera operators.

Stephen St. John Don Reddy

Production Design Production Design

Henry Bumstead

Art Direction Art Direction

Jack G. Taylor Jr.

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Alan Hicks Charlie Vasser Antoinette J. Gordon

Special Effects Special Effects

John Frazier David Amborn James W. McCormick

Stunts Stunts

Buddy Van Horn Andy Gill Brian Smrz Norman Howell

Composer Composer

Lennie Niehaus

Songs Songs

T.J. Lowther

Sound Sound

Alan Robert Murray Jeff Wexler Les Fresholtz Rick Alexander Allen L. Stone

Costume Design Costume Design

Erica Edell Phillips

Makeup Makeup

James Lee McCoy Francisco X. Pérez

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Carol A. O'Connell Elle Elliott Fríða Aradóttir

Malpaso Productions Warner Bros. Pictures

Releases by Date

24 nov 1993, 15 dec 1993, 16 dec 1993, 17 dec 1993, 30 dec 1993, 06 jan 1994, 07 jan 1994, 15 jan 1994, 10 mar 1994, 01 jul 1994, 27 jan 2003, 10 sep 2003, 09 jul 1994, 27 may 2004, releases by country.

Theatrical M
Theatrical 12+
Theatrical U
Theatrical 12
Theatrical T

Netherlands

Physical 12 DVD, Blu ray
TV 12 RTL 5
Theatrical M/16

South Korea

Physical 15
Theatrical PG-13

138 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by davidehrlich ★★★★

brain-melting charisma was so cool. the movies should really consider bringing that back.

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★★

No country for broken boys.

Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★★★

A rocket ride through the world of men and all the laws, written or otherwise, that regulate it. Every bit with Costner and the kid is a marvel. The stuff inside the trailer can be more staid despite some wonderful back and forth between Eastwood and Dern, but the intercut between lawless and order is essential to what the movie is doing and it moves very strong from one to the other. Good to know this still makes me cry hard as it has been a few years. My pick for greatest movie made in Hollywood after the studio system collapsed.

Review by Sean Fennessey ★★★★½ 18

Somewhere along the way, this became a forgotten classic. It's the final film in Costner's golden period and the first movie Eastwood made after his Unforgiven triumph. It earned $130 million and ruled HBO for years. (Somehow not a single person drafted it in our 1993 Movie Draft episode. I don't think it even came up? I think I just forgot.) I've seen it at least a dozen times, and as a kid whose dad had just moved out when I was roughly the same age as Philip in the film, it resonated deeply. The apex of Costner's quiet cool.

Review by eddie ★★★★★

hell no, phillip. good size for a boy your age

most of the runtime consists of intercutting costner teaching a jehova's witness youth about outlaw moralism with clint the texas ranger fighting off the governer's criminologist (laura dern) and the fbi's sharpshooter (bradley whitford), who were assigned to assist his highway manhunt, which is... perfect. eastwood is a master of balancing the melodramatic and the procedural, which makes the clash of the two at the climax that much more painful. whitford looking down the scope, followed by a series of reaction shots that seem to punctuate the dramatic thread of each character. buzz asks butch "are you bad?", and this ironic question has as much weight as henry fonda's "by jing, that's all there is to it. right and wrong" in young mr. lincoln . myth-making in the gray area.

Review by Willow Maclay ★★★★½ 5

"In Eastwood's filmography knowing how to use a gun and the consequences of that knowledge are addressed in the hands of fathers and their sons, whether they be surrogate or natural born. The most famous example of this is in Unforgiven (1992) where William Munny (Clint Eastwood) consoles “the Schofield Kid” (Jaimz Woolvett) after he kills a man for the first time. The Kid is struggling to grasp what he has just done. He's in disbelief, chugging whiskey and holding back tears before Munny utters a few words on killing that resonate beyond Unforgiven and are applicable to many of Eastwood's films. “It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got...and all he's ever…

Review by Glenn Heath Jr. ★★★★★

Men trying to be fathers, boys trying to be sons. What a wonderful film.

Review by Will Sloan

Leonard Maltin’s two-star review states: “Something new in screen entertainment: A manhunt movie with no urgency and no suspense.” He is correct, but wrong to think that this is a problem.

If you had any doubt that the director is the author of a movie, consider that this is written by John Lee Hancock.

Review by theriverjordan ★★★★ 21

“A Perfect World” is a movie made masterful by its flaws.

Clint Eastwood’s crime drama about an escaped convict (Kevin Costner) that takes a young boy hostage fluctuates with a jerking suddenness of tone between moments of comedy and trauma.

The unevenness is one of Eastwood’s recurring late career quirks, but in “World,” the imbalance functions to further the tinderbox tenacity of the setup. Working class dad Costner is constantly on the verge of deceiving even himself that he is the mastermind of an amiable family road trip, rather than of a violent crime.

The pairing of two notable Western genre actor-directors in “World” cannot have escaped audiences of the time; so soon after Costner’s sweeping the Oscars for “Dances…

Review by Joe ★★★★★

After tearing down the western in Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood decided to do some mythmaking of his own, about an outlaw instead of a lawman. His mastery of relaxed pacing makes this a pleasure to watch, but not without darkness - the late sequence with Costner's Butch Haynes coming harrowingly close to gunning down a family In-Cold-Blood-style is a great illustration of how heroes sometimes (maybe inevitably) end up failing us.

But my favorite part of the movie is T.J. Lowther as Butch's 8-year-old "hostage" Phillip. Movie history is full of precocious, hyperverbal youngsters who talk like grownups and are able to fully articulate all of their complex emotions in a way that adults aren't even able to in the real…

Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★★ 11

This is one of those films that has been on my radar for years because of this platform. The reaction has been varied, but I saw it online and decided to check it out after all.

And, while I'm not sure I agree that this is Eastwood's finest picture, it is one of his most moving. The connection between Costner and TJ is fantastic, despite the fact that the kid's acting was at times comical. Surprisingly, the worst performance for me came at the height of tension, when we see Costner's more vicious side, when we are reminded that this man is a dangerous criminal. There are also some repulsive scenes of paedophilia that made me uncomfortable.

Another thing I…

Review by Swartacus ★★★★★ 10

A Perfect World is Eastwood's darkest timeline. The follow up to his masterpiece and crowning achievement Unforgiven, it continues his exploration of American violence through classic genre filmmaking. This time he is taking on the "ill-fated road movie" trope instead of the Western and he destroys it like a linebacker pulverizing a tackling dummy.

It's infinitely interesting that instead of the rain-soaked darkness of Unforgiven 's brutal climax, Eastwood chooses to employ the beautiful landscape of Texas drenched in harsh unforgiving sunlight. A Perfect World is the obverse of Eastwood's Unforgiven coin. Every bit as biting as that gem, but in fact twice as sour because it's delivered with such sweetness. This is Eastwood playing with house money after striking cinematic…

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A Perfect World

Star Kevin Costner and director Clint Eastwood deliver lean, finely chiseled work in "A Perfect World," a somber, subtly nuanced study of an escaped con's complex relationship with an abducted boy that carries a bit too much narrative flab for its own good. Dazzling marquee combination of leading male stars from two generations will provide a hefty initial draw, but audiences and critics are likely to be divided between those moved by the unusual surrogate father-son bonding and viewers put off by the whole subject of child kidnapping. Ultimate B.O. looks to be solid but less than smash.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

Remember Me 14 years ago
Shutter Island 14 years ago
Green Zone 14 years ago

Star Kevin Costner and director Clint Eastwood deliver lean, finely chiseled work in “A Perfect World,” a somber, subtly nuanced study of an escaped con’s complex relationship with an abducted boy that carries a bit too much narrative flab for its own good. Dazzling marquee combination of leading male stars from two generations will provide a hefty initial draw, but audiences and critics are likely to be divided between those moved by the unusual surrogate father-son bonding and viewers put off by the whole subject of child kidnapping. Ultimate B.O. looks to be solid but less than smash.

Popular on Variety

Framed by haunting images of its sweaty protagonist lying in the grass as money stirred up by helicopter blades wafts over him, John Lee Hancock’s story centers on Butch Haynes (Costner), a lifelong loser toughened up by many years in the pen. With a nod to “Escape From Alcatraz,” Butch and his nasty partner Terry (Keith Szarabajka) break out of the joint on Halloween night in 1963, commandeer a car and, after briefly terrorizing a family, make off with 7 -year-old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther) as a hostage.

Quickly taking up the chase is Texas Ranger Red Garnett (Eastwood), a seasoned, instinctive pro who gets saddled with an unwanted contingent of man hunters, including Laura Dern’s state criminologist and Bradley Whitford’s odious sharpshooter. Faintly amusing touch has the law gang traveling in a silver mobile trailer loaded with high-tech gizmos with which they hope to track Butch’s movements.

Remainder of the picture cross-cuts between the hunters and the prey, with heavy emphasis on the latter. Even so, it was not heavy enough, as the scenes among the cops prove uniquely uneventful impediments to forward progress.

After a nervous gas station interlude in which Butch disposes of the menacing Terry, little Phillip begins admiring his abductor for his cool, manly, take-charge ways and his friendly, liberating words of encouragement, things he never hears from his severe, Jehovah’s Witness mom.

Phillip can hardly help but begin to see in Butch the father he doesn’t have. Fortunately, the sympathetic Butch doesn’t have any windy speeches explaining his own unlucky childhood. The most he says is, “I ain’t a good man. I ain’t the worst neither. Just a breed apart.”

Film is strongest in building this erratic, potent and unusually complicated link between man and boy. Resulting emotions pull on the viewer in diverse, disturbing and increasingly involving ways, justifying the protracted finale in which the two play out their relationship under the scrutiny of a phalanx of armed authorities.

Film’s major surprise is Costner’s performance, which is undoubtedly the best of his career to date. Sporting short hair, shades and a perpetual cigarette, the actor trades in taciturnity here for major dividends, as the slow rate at which his character is revealed produces mounting interest, much in the fashion of some of Eastwood’s slow-burn characterizations in the past. Costner skillfully indicates the glimmerings of good instincts buried somewhere deep in Butch that have rarely, if ever, been articulated or brought to the surface.

As the kid, who spends the latter-going running around in a Casper the Friendly Ghost suit, T.J. Lowther is exceptionally good. Engaging company despite adverse circumstances, he achingly conveys the contradictory feelings his experience with Butch summons up.

For once, Eastwood the director has served other actors significantly better than he serves himself. His tough cop role resembles many others he’s played before, but this time remains a strictly one-dimensional supporting figure who doesn’t really do much. Similarly, Dern’s initially adversarial smarty-pants shows the potential to flower into one of Eastwood’s periodic female sparring partners whom he grows to respect, but role never goes beyond the annoyingly sketchy.

Director brings strong tact and intelligence to the human story, and elaborates it with many grace notes. A climactic scene involving Butch, the kid and a black sharecropper family is brilliantly staged for maximum dread, ambiguous intent and key, but subtle, revelation of Butch’s personality.

Pic would have benefited from at least 20 minutes of tightening, nearly all in the police scenes. Fact that tale is set three weeks before JFK’s fateful trip to Dallas is fortunately not belabored, but will be noted in light of Eastwood’s most recent outing in “In the Line of Fire.”

Behind-the-scenes contributions are strong, notably Henry Bumstead’s evocative but unstressed period production design, Jack N. Green’s sensitive but unshowy lensing and Lennie Niehaus’ resourceful score. Eye-catching supporting turns are delivered by Wayne Dehart as the threatened farmhand and Linda Hart as a lustful waitress.

Production: A Warner Bros. release of a Malpaso production. Produced by Mark Johnson, David Valdes. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Screenplay, John Lee Hancock.
Crew: Camera (Technicolor; Panavision widescreen), Jack N. Green; editors, Joel Cox, Ron Spang; music, Lennie Niehaus; production design, Henry Bumstead; art direction, Jack Taylor Jr.; set design, Charlie Vassar, Antoinette Gordon; set decoration, Alan Hicks; costume design, Erica Edell Phillips; sound (Dolby), Jeff Wexler; assistant director, L. Dean Jones; casting, Phyllis Huffman, Liz Keigley (Texas). Reviewed at Warner Bros. screening room, Burbank, Nov. 16, 1993. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time:137 MIN.
With: Butch Haynes ... Kevin Costner Red Garnett ... Clint Eastwood Sally Gerber ... Laura Dern Phillip Perry ... T.J. Lowther Terry Pugh ... Keith Szarabajka Tom Adler ... Leo Burmester Dick Suttle ... Paul Hewitt Bobby Lee ... Bradley Whitford Bradley ... Ray McKinnon Gladys Perry ... Jennifer Griffin Mack ...Wayne Dehart Eileen ... Linda Hart

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A PERFECT WORLD

When you think of Clint Eastwood, one of the first words that comes to mind is lean. It describes the man himself: the tall, erect physique and the stretched-leather gauntness of his features. And it describes the flinty reticence of his moviemaking style-the way all his characters are emotionally stripped down for action. I’m afraid, though, that lean is not a word likely to occur to many people in connection with A PERFECT WORLD (PG-13), the first film Eastwood has directed since Unforgiven. Like his dark, Oscar-winning Western, this movie is set in a mythic American past-we’re in Texas in November 1963, the moment just before the country’s psyche was blown open by the JFK assassination-and it’s structured as a leisurely, epic manhunt. The man being chased is Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner), a lifelong criminal who breaks out of Huntsville Prison, where he was serving a 40-year sentence for armed robbery. He takes a hostage, 8-year-old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), and the case becomes the hottest news in the state. Before long, the two are under pursuit by Red Garnett (Eastwood), a veteran Texas Ranger who, along with his crew of deputies and a feisty federal criminologist (Laura Dern), is traveling in a silver trailer that has been equipped for use as a mobile command center. For virtually its entire 2-hour-and-18-minute running time, A Perfect World cuts back and forth between Butch and Phillip as they make their way past one sunbaked cornfield after another and Red and his team as they drive past the same cornfields. Nothing much happens. Butch may be a hardened convict, but he’s a super-nice guy. Occasionally, he and Phillip stop off at a diner or a small-town store, where every waitress and clerk seems to throw herself at Butch. Butch never seems to be in any danger, though: Everyone is too scared- or too slow-to report him. Meanwhile, even less is going on within that silver trailer. Eastwood and Dern exchange a few testy barbs, just as Eastwood has always done with his female law-enforcer comrades-before learning to respect them, of course. In essence, though, we’re watching a bunch of detectives while away the hours before confronting their prey. The way A Perfect World sets cop and criminal on parallel tracks would seem to make it the third entry (after The Fugitive and In the Line of Fire) in this year’s sturdiest thriller genre. The difference is that this one is stately, becalmed-and surprisingly dull. It may be the single most bloated movie Eastwood has ever made. Unforgiven didn’t have that much more story line than this movie does, but there Eastwood gave us characters who were knee-deep in moral squalor. Now the director’s brooding terrain has been invaded by sweetness and light. The core of A Perfect World is the bond that develops between Butch and his young hostage. Phillip, you see, has grown up emotionally deprived. His father abandoned the family, and since Phillip is a Jehovah’s Witness, he has never been allowed to do normal kid stuff like going out for Halloween. Butch can identify: His own father was a criminal lout. Overnight, Butch becomes the father Phillip never had. As the two head for Alaska, he talks warmly to the boy, takes him trick-or-treating, even reassures him that the size of his penis is A-OK. Speaking in a honey-smooth drawl, Costner is warm and appealing. In fact, he’s too appealing: He’s so much in his straight-arrow, New Age Gary Cooper mode that, despite the fact that Butch is capable of killing without hesitation, A Perfect World loses almost any pretense of being about a pathological crook. Costner seems about as pathological as a koala bear, and his gentle charisma reinforces the film’s touchy-feely theme: that the real criminal in American life is the Absent Dad. As Phillip, T.J. Lowther doesn’t have much to do but stare admiringly at Costner and behave like a shy chipmunk. A Perfect World becomes a loopy cross between Badlands and Field of Dreams. Beneath its road-movie surface, the film has a daytime-talk-show squishiness-it’s Eastwood’s version of ”Violent Criminals and the Fathers Who Didn’t Love Them.” Near the end, Costner finally gets an interesting scene. Holed up in the home of a black family, Butch explodes at the grandfather (who keeps whacking his grandson), and his obsession acquires a psychotic edge. Moments later, though, the film snaps back to viewing him as a dust-bowl saint. The trouble with Eastwood’s attempt to make a thriller with ”heart” is that, in retreating from his darker impulses, he muffles his own voice as a moviemaker. Of all directors, he should know that a character like Butch can’t be this easily forgiven.

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A Perfect World is a 1993 adventure crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who befriends a young boy (T.J. Lowther), and ends up embarking on a road trip with the child. Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit of the convict.

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A Perfect World

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Clint Eastwood, as Texas Ranger Red Garnett, teams up with Kevin Costner, as escaped convict Butch Haynes, for a gripping manhunt circa 1963. Though both stars have won Oscars for directing, Eastwood grabs the reins and draws Costner’s scrappiest performance since Bull Durham . Butch takes a hostage in fatherless, 7-year-old Phillip (T.J. Lowther) and shows him stuff to fry the nerves of his mother, a Jehovah’s Witness. How do guns and grand theft qualify as fun? Butch, also from a broken home, makes a charming and dangerous teacher.

Red, who sent Butch away as a juvenile, pursues his man in a trailer where he can trade insults with his deputies and a sexy criminologist (Laura Dern). Eastwood is in rare form, but it’s his keen directorial eye that stops the John Lee Hancock script from slipping into TV formula. Eastwood keeps the action raucous, the humor sharp edged and the focus on the lost boy in Butch, whose attack on a black family spins the film into a shattering climax that indicts the legal system for helping to make career criminals of kids. In going beyond chase-yarn duty, Eastwood and Costner do themselves proud.

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Why 'A Perfect World' Is Clint Eastwood’s Most Underrated Movie

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At 91 years old, Clint Eastwood continues to be one of Hollywood’s most prolific directors. Eastwood often puts projects together quickly; Richard Jewell began filming in June and hit its December release date, and less than a year later he was back behind and in front of the camera for his latest feature Cry Macho . While Eastwood has teased that Cry Macho may be his closing chapter, it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll follow through with that promise or find another story that sparks his interest.

Compared to his other work, 1993’s A Perfect World is somewhat of an anomaly. Eastwood has nearly forty directorial credits to his name and gravitates toward westerns, action films, and thrillers. Based on the premise alone, A Perfect World sounds like it's right up Eastwood’s alley. Set in Texas in 1963, the film follows escaped convict Butch Haynes ( Kevin Costner ), who takes an eight-year-old child named Phillip ( T. J. Lowther ) hostage while fleeing authorities.

The Tragedy of 'A Perfect World'

Regret and destiny are themes Eastwood frequently explores, yet A Perfect World is among the most tragic and surprisingly unsentimental films of his career. Phillip isn’t utilized to soften the heart of the gruff Butch, nor is Phillip empowered by the dangerous experience. It’s a film about trauma that doesn’t heal; Phillip and Butch are able to momentarily bond while discussing their pasts, but their realities don’t change as a result. As Butch travels with the boy towards an escape route in New Mexico, he’s steadily impressed by his captive’s inventiveness. Phillip steals a ghost costume, but it’s not framed as a cutesy moment. Rather, he’s shown a disregard for civility reminiscent of the man he just watched kill his own partner .

RELATED: Actually, Western Icon Clint Eastwood Is Better Off When He's Not a Cowboy

Phillip was raised in a Jehovah's Witness community by his mother and sisters, and Butch gives him a broader worldview. His naivete isn’t exaggerated; there are more blatant aspects of childhood that Butch is surprised to learn Phillip knows nothing about (such as Christmas or Halloween celebrations), but he’s also secluded from developing self-respect. When Hayne encourages Phillip to have confidence after the boy reveals he’s been bullied, it's not positioned as an out-of-character moment of kindness on Butch’s behalf. The words of encouragement come as a surprise, and the scene is more tragic in revealing Phillip’s self-loathing than they are a charming moment of bonding.

Butch’s growing interest in Phillip’s development is strengthened as he reveals his own troubled childhood. Fleeing his violent father, Butch had already developed a reputation by the time he was a teenager and served a full sentence after being denied juvenile prison. Butch’s supportive words of Phillip are tragically ironic; they’re an attempt at replicating a father-son relationship he never had, even if he knows it isn’t sustainable.

While Phillip takes Butch’s lessons about right and wrong to heart, he also learns that his new father figure often doesn’t follow his own rules. As the pair hides at a ranch New Mexico, Butch becomes angered witnessing the violent outbursts that the owner Mack ( Wayne Dehart ) inflicts upon his wife. Butch threatens to kill him , and Phillip is forced to evaluate the situation in a split second. Is Butch justified, and would Mack’s death even resolve the situation? These aren’t questions an eight-year-old should have to consider, let alone bear responsibility for, but in the tense face-off, Phillip is forced to be the voice of reason.

Eastwood, Texas Ranger

Eastwood casts himself as Texas Ranger Red Garnett, who aims to capture Butch alive before he sparks a conflict with other pursuing authorities. Garnett’s motivation in aprehending Butch is personal, as it is revealed that he was the arresting officer that detained Garnett in his youth. Butch is unaware of the connection, but it's a decision that haunts Garnett. While he thought that forcing Butch to see the consequences of his actions would’ve spared him of his abusive father, he realizes that it only hardened Butch’s outlook.

Eastwood frequently casts himself in the lead, but he’s equally effective in a supporting role. Garnett is far different from a character like Unforgiven ’s Will Munny, as he’s not an evil man trying to redeem a life of hatred, but rather a career lawman regretting a misconstrued attempt at giving Butch a way out. Eastwood is terrific playing internalized guilt, as Garnett only gradually reveals his motivations to criminologist Sally Gerber ( Laura Dern ). While the film builds towards their confrontation, they don’t share words; Butch never learns of the man who sealed his fate, and Garnett never gets the chance to voice his apology.

Eastwood's Best Film About Masculinity

Eastwood is no stranger to long runtimes, but A Perfect World ’s 138 minutes don’t feel excessive. The suspenseful sequences are realistic; when Butch’s partner Terry Pugh ( Keith Szarabajka ) threatens to kill him, they discuss their options over an extended conversation. The two aggressive men have reason enough to hate each other, as they only escaped together out of necessity, but both understand the value in mapping an escape together. That Terry’s death only comes after he threatens Phillip is a great character-building moment for Butch; he’s willing to risk his own future to protect Phillip in the film’s first true act of selflessness.

Although tension steadily mounts as Garnett follows Butch’s trail, the climax is more of an inevitability than it is the conclusion of a relentless chase. Butch’s death comes through another mischaracterized act of kindness; choosing to spend a few fleeting moments with Phillip , a simple gift is misinterpreted as a weapon by a trigger-happy sniper. At this moment, all the characters see their “perfect world” slip away; Garnett loses his chance to confess to Butch, Phillip is doomed to return to his religious upbrining, and Butch loses his life after showing his benevolence. While he’s known for his lack of storyboarding and minimal camera setups , Eastwood’s meticulous approach to conflict in A Perfect World’s tragedy makes it more effective.

Eastwood is known for his hypermasculine characters, but A Perfect World is perhaps his best film about masculinity, as its trio of traumatized men are all punished for showing sensitivity. Eastwood’s films are frequently under fire for their political baggage, but A Perfect World doesn’t lionize its characters or offer an easy solution. It presents a slice of reality, and the flawed characters forced to inhabit it.

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71 Metascore
2 hr 18 mins
Drama, Suspense
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A Texas lawman pursues an escaped convict who has kidnapped a young boy. Meanwhile, in their dash to the border, the convict and the boy form a father-son attachment.

In a perfect world, screenwriters would be forbidden from using cute pre-teens to make up for creaky plots; Clint Eastwood would stop churning out his patented over-the-hill-but-still-tough routine; and there would be an injunction against Kevin Costner doing death scenes, especially ones as long and meandering as a cross-Texas road trip. A PERFECT WORLD starts out quite well, with Butch Haynes (Costner) and a companion breaking out of a Texas prison and, after a tense confrontation with a terrified family, making off with 7-year-old Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther) as a hostage. Hot on their heels are an initially promising team that includes Eastwood, as grizzled Texas Ranger Red Garnett, and Laura Dern, as inexperienced but independent criminologist Sally Gerber. You know things have started to go wrong when Butch, after getting rid of his fellow escapee, starts to shape up as the loving father figure that young Phillip has never had. As Butch and the boy's drive turns into one warm, fuzzy episode after another, the team that is pursuing them comes to a physical, and dramatic, halt. With their high-tech trailer stuck in a field, Garnett and his deputies can do nothing either to pursue Butch, or to develop the character relations set up earlier. Throw in a transformation scene in which Costner turns--with a supreme lack of conviction--into a psycho killer, and you have a movie experience that's a long, long way from perfect.

Action/Adventure
Children's/Family
Documentary/Reality
Amazon Prime Video

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Here to Climb’ on Max, a Documentary Look At The Life and Career of Rock Climber Sasha DiGiulian

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Here To Climb
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Sasha DiGiulian might not be a household name, but in the world of professional climbing, she’s a rock star. Her career–full of daring first female ascents–is the focus of Here to Climb , a new feature-length documentary on Max. We follow her rise from child prodigy to one of the sport’s biggest female stars, and see the struggles she’s encountered on her way to the top.

HERE TO CLIMB : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Sasha DiGiulian’s made a major name for herself in the world of competitive climbing, pursuing dangerous and daring ascents and setting many firsts for a female climber. Here to Climb finds her in the prime of her career, but tracks how she got there — rising from a climbing-gym child prodigy to the peak of the sport — and sees her grappling with how to make the most of her best climbing years. She faces bullying, doubt, injuries, and struggles with self-worth, and faces down the ever-present dangers of the sport. A number of fellow top climbers join her here, including Free Solo star Alex Honnold and veteran Lynn Hill.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: It’s got some of the same flavor as well-known climbing documentaries like Free Solo or Meru , but it’s got its own personal style.

Performance Worth Watching: DiGiulian is the center of the story here, of course, but important context is given by the presence of some of her fellow climbers. This includes veteran climber Lynn Hill, who helped blaze a trail for female climbers like DiGiulian. There’s also DiGiulian’s contemporary Angela Vanwiemeersch, who keeps the risks of the sport at the center of her thinking after her partner died on an expedition.

Memorable Dialogue: “I love to climb hard, and I also love to wear pink,” DiGiulain explains in preface to recounting her experiences with cyberbullying. “I love to be outside, but I also love to stay in a five-star hotel. Being true to myself and not having to dampen my shine is maybe why I cause friction. But I’m human, so I’m always going to be affected by negative comments.”

Sex and Skin: Other than a brief clip recounting a campaign DiGiulian did with lingerie brand Agent Provocateur — which itself is quite mild — there’s nothing sexual here.

Our Take: The best parts of Here to Climb are quiet and slow.

That’s a compliment; there’s a temptation when making an extreme-sport documentary to oversell the subject matter, to fluff things up with heavy scoring and crazy tricks of photography and manufactured drama. That sort of thing is unnecessary when you’re dealing with a sport as dramatic as rock climbing, and it’s a relief to see filmmakers let the real drama do the work for itself. Long, slow, quiet shots of Sasha DiGiulian clinging to a sheer rock face aren’t boring–they’re both meditative and riveting.

That’s not to say that there’s not plenty of noise around DiGiulian, though.

Top athletes face constant criticism, and top female athletes even more so. DiGiulian’s climbing career has seen her set multiple first female ascents of difficult routes, but it’s also seen her face cyberbullying for her appearance, public questioning of her motivations and public image, and a sense that nothing she can do will be good enough as a high-profile woman in a male-dominated sphere. She’s just passed 30 years old, but after multiple surgeries and a great deal of pain, it’s clear that DiGiulian feels the specter of time ticking away as she seeks to make the most of her prime years.

Ultimately, Here to Climb isn’t a movie about a single big climb in the way a movie like Free Solo was. Sure, there are big climbs in it — both successful and failed — but the core of the story is about DiGiulian’s internal conflict at this critical point in her career. This keeps the story intensely human — it’s surprisingly easy to identify with DiGiulian even if you’re not someone who’s ever laid hands on a climbing wall — but it does leave the story feeling a bit driftless at times. The film culminates in a challenging climb of a major rock face in Mexico, but it doesn’t quite play as the triumphant climax that it could; in the end, it’s a moment that feels like it could use a little bit more drama.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Here to Climb is a solid, well-crafted documentary on a top climber, but it might struggle to hold the interest of non-climbers for a full 80 minute runtime.

Scott Hines, publisher of the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter , is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Screen Rant

10 cloverfield lane ending explained - how it connects to cloverfield's monster.

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10 Cloverfield Lane: Every Alternate Ending & Plot Change Explained

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Michelle's escape in the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending reflects themes of facing unknown threats after overcoming abuse.
The ending serves as a fitting conclusion to Michelle's story, symbolizing her transition from running away to standing up to predators.
Michelle's decision to go to Houston in the ending ties the film's deeper themes together, expanding on the core elements of fear and regret.

The 10 Cloverfield Lane ending is a divisive aspect of the otherwise acclaimed sequel, but it is a conclusion that plays off of the movie's deeper themes. The second film in the Cloverfield franchise is a deeply unsettling and claustrophobic experience, and from beginning to end presents itself as a cerebral and complex thriller that introspectively tackles themes of paranoia and regret. However, the film bears little resemblance to the 2008 found-footage Kaiju movie Cloverfield, as on the surface it's only the final shots that link 10 Cloverfield Lane to Cloverfield.

10 Cloverfield Lane begins with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) being run off the road and waking up in a bunker where her captor Howard (John Goodman) explains the world is under attack. Putting her doubts aside, Michelle settles into Howard's bunker alongside Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). What follows is a tense character-driven drama that delivers a steady flow of dread. There are much deeper themes at play throughout 10 Cloverfield Lane , although — perhaps to its detriment — the ending requires a full examination to explain how it fits into the wider Cloverfield timeline .

10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg revealed he cut a handful of scenes from the movie. Here's what was changed from the Cloverfield sequel.

What Happens In 10 Cloverfield Lane's Ending

Michelle finally defeats howard & escapes into a world at war with aliens.

Michelle in a hazmat suit as a monster looms in the shadows behind her, hovering over a house in 10 Cloverfield Lane

After Howard grows increasingly dangerous and unhinged, Michelle decides to risk freedom in the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending, escaping from the bunker after setting it alight. Dressed in her makeshift protective equipment, Michelle manages to escape the bunker just before it explodes, and she realizes Howard's insistence that the air is toxic was untrue. Seeing birds fly overhead, Michelle sees that the air is breathable, and removes her mask. However, Michelle escaping Howard's bunker, while symbolically important, isn't the main reason the ending of 10 Cloverfield Lane creates so many questions.

The 10 Cloverfield Lane ending sees Michelle opting to go to Houston.

Though aspects of Howard's claims were false, with the sudden emergence of a giant alien in the sky, it becomes clear the world is indeed under attack . The creature attacks Michelle, and she's forced to fight for her life, eventually killing the huge being using a makeshift Molotov cocktail. Finally making her way off of Howard's farm, Michelle finds herself at a literal crossroads, choosing between heading to a safe zone in Baton Rouge or going to Houston to help fight the creatures. The 10 Cloverfield Lane ending sees Michelle opting to go to Houston.

This sequence of events at the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane confused many audience members , especially prior to the release of The Cloverfield Paradox in 2018 which filled in some of the blanks . Until its ending, 10 Cloverfield Lane had been an intimate and tense psychological thriller where the threats from what was happening outside gradually became secondary to Howard's villainy.

In addition, many of Michelle's decisions, and why she was held by Howard in the first place, created legitimate questions in their own right. However, the ending does fit the rest of the movie, and an examination of the meaning of 10 Cloverfield Lane and its core themes explains how.

Howard Took Michelle To Rebuild The Family He Lost

Michelle's captor wanted to replace his daughter.

Howard talking to Michelle in a small room in 10 Cloverfield Lane

One of the most suspicious and significant elements of the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending is Howard's bunker, and the only explanation offered for why Michelle cannot leave it comes from Howard himself. As Howard explains, he brought Michelle there to treat her injuries from the crash. Their subsequent quarantine in the bunker at 10 Cloverfield Lane (which happens to be Howard's address) came as a result of the attack from unknown forces. However, there's far more to Howard's story than he offers Michelle, and this is part of the reason for her distrust of her savior/captor.

The original script, The Cellar , was not connected to Cloverfield in any way.

As Michelle and Emmett later find out, Howard's regular mentions of Megan aren't all about his daughter — the picture, and "Megan"'s clothes offered to Michelle, actually belonged to a local girl named Brittany who went missing several years prior. When Howard's behavior becomes more delusional, it becomes clear that he's obsessed with the idea of having a family, and that he wants Michelle to fill the role of his daughter . Michelle and Emmett must fight against Howard, unsure if it's safe to leave the bunker, but knowing that Howard is a threat to their lives.

Howard was delusional about almost everything, although it's unclear how much of his story he believed. The fact Michelle found the world experiencing a genuine alien invasion when she left revealed a threat did exist. Howard had connected a few dots but was nowhere near the full picture, and there wasn't toxic gas in the air as he claimed. The specific nature of the threat was also secondary to his actions. Had he found Michelle after the Cloverfield monsters arrived, he likely would have still held her captive, with the difference being that his story was actually true.

10 Cloverfield Lane Is About Fear & Regret

Howard had tried to replace his daughter before.

Howard looking into a room in 10 Cloverfield Lane.

The core themes of 10 Cloverfield Lane are regret and fear, both of which are exemplified by John Goodman's Howard . Howard's the film's primary antagonist as well as Michelle and Emmett's savior. He's also a murderer, he's delusional, and he's a dangerous conspiracy theorist (even if the conspiracies prove to be true). However, understanding Howard's backstory is an important part of understanding his motivations throughout the film. Howard's past is only relayed in part by Howard himself in 10 Cloverfield Lane , making much of what the film reveals about him relatively unreliable.

Howard is a dangerous man, and he has a fixation on filling the role of his missing daughter.

His job working on satellites could serve as a reason that Howard had knowledge of the dangers, and his comments about his daughter and ex-wife being gone take on a sinister tone after the revelation regarding Brittany. Howard is a dangerous man, and he has a fixation on filling the role of his missing daughter, with the implication being that Michelle is the latest in a string of captives . It seems Howard saw his opportunity to take Michelle when the attack started, and used it as a means of keeping her in the bunker with him.

While 10 Cloverfield Lane is a particularly claustrophobic thriller, it's ultimately not about the bunker, nor is it about the alien attack that made the bunker necessary. The film's true meaning is revealed in a touching scene between Emmett and Michelle as they discuss their lives before the attack. Emmett explains that he never left his hometown due to his fear of not being successful and that it was perhaps his biggest regret. Michelle shares her own regret, which links back to the very beginning of the film.

Michelle begins the film by running from her fiancé after an argument, and she reveals it to be her usual coping mechanism due to an abusive childhood. This abuse draws parallels to the psychotically paternal relationship Howard attempts to force upon her, and her ultimate resistance shows her attempting to break the cycle of fear and regret. Giving Emmett a backstory with a similar motivation builds a bond between the two characters, and Emmett's death provides the push that Michelle needs to finally break free of her own fear and escape the bunker in the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending.

The Real Meaning Of 10 Cloverfield Lane's Ending

Michelle chooses to fight & not remain a victim.

Michelle outside the farmhouse at the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane

The 10 Cloverfield Lane ending sees Michelle escape one predator and stumble into the path of another in the form of a large alien threat. While it is an abrupt reveal, it actually provides an interesting continuation of the film's established themes. By presenting Michelle with yet another monster to face, it allows her an opportunity to fight back, and as she's only just narrowly escaped one form of captivity, she's finally inclined to do so.

In the final moments, Michelle is at a critical juncture, choosing between running for safety or fighting the problem head-on. Just like the reveal of Cloverfield 's monster in the film's final shot, this scene ties everything together — everything that Michelle has faced throughout the film has led her to that crossroads, and she's finally willing to fight back . Though 10 Cloverfield Lane 's final scenes are often cited as the film's weakest moments, they actually provide an interesting continuation of its deeper themes, as well as tying it all into the Cloverfield franchise.

Why The 10 Cloverfield Lane Ending Was Controversial

The franchise twist undermined the story.

Montage of Cloverfield poster and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane

The 10 Cloverfield Lane ending sparked controversy because some viewers felt it was shoehorned into the story to slot it into the wider Cloverfield franchise . It was a jarring leap into sci-fi territory and made little sense tonally if those watching didn't understand the Cloverfield connection. Many critics felt the ending undermined the rest of the film and 10 Cloverfield Lane would have been better off as a standalone movie with a less genre-bending conclusion. However, even though the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending is controversial, it has just as many supporters.

The sudden change in pace mirrors Michelle's need to change — and quickly — if she wants to escape Howard and the toxic environment in the bunker. She needs to overcome her fear, especially when it comes to putting herself in danger, and the near-instant push from a slow-creep thriller into a high-paced alien encounter thematically captures the adrenaline panic Michelle would be feeling at the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane . The aliens also represent an unknown she faces when taking that next step, similar to the unknown Emmett feared that kept him from leaving.

She has overcome her fears and knowingly heads into peril.

Many trapped in the kind of abusive relationships 10 Cloverfield Lane masterfully explores have reported that fear of the unknown life beyond their current circumstance left them unable to flee their abuse. This is crystallized in the movie's final moments when Michelle heads toward Houston against a lightning-flash backdrop of landing alien ships. She has overcome her fears and knowingly heads into peril having developed an awareness that the peace she seeks lies beyond further hardship.

This echoes the experience abuse survivors face when bringing their abusers to light, and the fact that many go on to help other domestic abuse survivors despite the proximity this brings them to their own trauma. With consideration of its ties to the deeper messages of the movie, the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending can be seen as a smarter and more fitting conclusion than it was initially given credit for. A potential 10 Cloverfield Lane 2 might be even more controversial.

Why The 10 Cloverfield Lane Ending Is Perfect For Its Story

Michelle learns to stand & fight - even against aliens.

Michelle looking up in 10 Cloverfield Lane.

In the end, 10 Cloverfield Lane explained the dangers of systematic domestic abuse, and Michelle was the key to standing up to and ending that form of abuse. Howard was a classic abuser archetype. He was abusive to her from the start, proving that he only wanted to control and dominate her, and not caring about her thoughts or feelings from the start. However, there is a problem with Michelle overcoming and beating Howard. He wasn't who her abuse problems started with. Escaping this one man was Michelle running away again, even if she did fight for her freedom.

When she beats this monster in the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending, she then had a new decision to make, to either keep running or fight.

Michelle can't escape this repeating motif in her life unless she does more than just run away. By escaping her captor and moving into the real world again, she realized that there was another predator wanting to hurt her. This was an actual monster. When she beats this monster in the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending, she then had a new decision to make, to either keep running or fight. With giant world-destroying monsters in sight, she chose to fight, and that is how Michelle finally won in the end.

Howard was presented as a paranoid doomsday prepper and, in an ironic twist of fate, his actions prepped Michelle for the alien invasion that was imminently due to unfold.

10 Cloverfield Lane's Place In The Cloverfield Franchise Timeline

Cloverfield takes place only a short time after the first movie.

A montage with Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a 10 Cloverfield Lane image.

Film	Release Date	Director
	January 18, 2008	Matt Reeves
	March 11, 2016	Dan Trachtenberg
	February 4, 2018	Julius Onah

Making connections between Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane is more difficult than it might seem, particularly as the sci-fi premise of the latter is kept back until the very end of the film. This makes it difficult to pin down 10 Cloverfield Lane 's exact place in the loose narrative of the Cloverfield franchise. However, a few small Easter eggs do point to a specific placement in the wider Cloverfield timeline.

It's reasonable to assume that the events of 10 Cloverfield Lane happen at least a short while after the events of Cloverfield , as the former chronicles the initial appearance of the monsters in New York, and at the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane , the monster issues appear to be worldwide. However, each of the current films in the Cloverfield franchise is designed to be entirely independent of each other.

There's also a small Easter egg within 10 Cloverfield Lane 's promotional material that confirms Howard was working for Tagruato, the same company that hired Rob at the start of Cloverfield , and a conspiracy theorist in The Cloverfield Paradox who shares the name "Stambler" with Howard.

Cloverfield 4 Needs To Explain The Franchise Timeline

Fans seem confused at how the movies connect.

With the 10 Cloverfield Lane ending not directly referencing how it fits into the timeline of the first Cloverfield , it presented the idea that this franchise was loosely connected. It is an interesting approach, creating a sci-fi horror anthology under the Cloverfield umbrella with each release tackling a totally new story in the genre, similar to the original idea for the Halloween franchise. However, three movies into the Cloverfield franchise and the confusion surrounding how it all connects is proving to be harmful to the audience's acceptance of these films.

The underwhelming response to The Cloverfield Paradox cemented the fact that the franchise needed to find some focus if it was going to continue. The third movie initially seemed like a standalone space-set story only for the final moments to reveal a much bigger version of the original Cloverfield monster on Earth. Connecting the story more directly to the first Cloverfield while still implying that it is a different universe, only adds to the confusion of things.

Whatever the next project is will be a make-or-break moment for the franchise

Cloverfield 4 is confirmed , and given the secrecy of the films up until now, it could arrive at any time. However, whatever the next project is will be a make-or-break moment for the franchise as there is the need for a movie to tie everything together and give fans some clarity and yet another standalone with only vague connections to the other releases could kill interest in the future of Cloverfield all together.

How The 10 Cloverfield Lane Ending Was Received

The movie received positive reviews despite the ending.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle clutching a hazmat suit in 10 Cloverfield Lane.

10 Cloverfield Lane received great reviews when it came out, and the audience also enjoyed it. Thanks to the low budget ($13-$15 million), it was a box office success, making $110.2 million (via Box Office Mojo ) , and much of that comes down to positive word of mouth. However, even the positive audience reviews didn't necessarily like the ending . One audience member wrote, " I basically liked the film but thought the ending was contrived and far fetched by forcing it to tie in with Cloverfield. "

The critics agreed in many cases. In his review, Leonard Maltin wrote that the movie succeeds in " building tension through a series of thriller tropes, some of them bordering on cliché but still pretty effective. " However, after praising John Goodman's performance, Maltin added, " The finale (which is reminiscent of Cloverfield) doesn't have the impact it should. "

Not all reviews are positive though. Owen Gleiberman from BBC wrote that " 10 Cloverfield Lane feels like a marketing plan posing as a movie. " That comes down to the twist ending that makes the film part of the larger franchise. " In the case of 10 Cloverfield Lane , what’s attention-grabbing about the film’s last act is mostly that it seems like it was lifted out of another film entirely. In today’s conformist popcorn environment, that can play as audacity. But really, it’s just desperation, as if the filmmakers were eager to do anything under the sun to set the audience abuzz. "

10 Cloverfield Lane

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From Dan Trachtenberg, 10 Cloverfield Lane follows Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a young woman who awakens after a car crash in a bunker alongside two strangers. Howard (John Goodman) tells her that it's not safe to leave, and that he saved her life, but Michelle becomes increasingly suspicious of Howard's motives and his past and begins to plan a daring escape to see what exactly has happened to the outside world.

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10th Avenue

Whispers of revenge echo through the opulent halls of 10th Avenue Estate, Lagos' most exclusive neighborhood. This seemingly perfect paradise hides a dark side - a world of secrets, lies, an... Read all Whispers of revenge echo through the opulent halls of 10th Avenue Estate, Lagos' most exclusive neighborhood. This seemingly perfect paradise hides a dark side - a world of secrets, lies, and corruption where the wealthy play their games Whispers of revenge echo through the opulent halls of 10th Avenue Estate, Lagos' most exclusive neighborhood. This seemingly perfect paradise hides a dark side - a world of secrets, lies, and corruption where the wealthy play their games

Korede Soyinka
Elma Mbadiwe
Chimezie Imo

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Malik Johnson
Efe Johnson
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Batman: Caped Crusader Creates the Perfect Blueprint The Batman Part II and a Highly Anticipated DC Villain

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Who is clayface in batman: caped crusader, a more modern clayface would be out of place in the batman's world, batman: caped crusader shows how to make clayface work in live-action.

The following contains spoilers for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1, which is now streaming on Prime Video.

Batman: Caped Crusader is bringing fans back to the beginning of Batman's mission in Gotham. Caped Crusader is also recapturing the magic that many fans associate with Batman: The Animated Series by taking many of the core concepts of that series and evolving them with new interpretations. The villains of Caped Crusader got the biggest overhaul creating some new versions of classic characters like The Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Clayface. Seeing the iconic villains of Batman transformed and given a new spin is reinvigorating for the long-standing franchise and one villain in particular provides the perfect blueprint to follow if The Batman: Part II decided to bring him to life in live-action.

The Batman had massive fan and critical reception, with many people praising how the film walked the line between a dark and brooding Batman, but not losing sight of the hope that Batman brings to Gotham. Robert Pattinson and his fellow cast created a compelling world that fans are eager to see more of. The Penguin will be getting more screen time in his upcoming HBO series, which only leaves people more desperate for the sequel. One of the predominant rumors about the sequel is that Clayface is being considered the main villain. If this was the case, Batman: Caped Crusader has already shown a version of the character that would fit seamlessly into the world of The Batman and the epic crime sage.

A split image shows Harley Quinn, Batman and Clayface from Batman Caped Crusader

Batman: Caped Crusader’s Biggest Differences from the Comic Characters

Batman: Caped Crusader is heavily influenced by the Golden Age, which resulted in a few changes to iconic characters like Harley Quinn.

Basil Karlo was the original Clayface in the comics, first appearing in Detective Comics #40 in June 1940.
In Batman: The Animated Series, Matt Hagen was Clayface, but he didn't appear in the comics until 1961 in Detective Comics #298.
In total 8 different people are Clayface in the comics, including Sondra Fuller, the only woman to be Clayface.

In Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1 , Episode 2 "...And Be A Villain," audiences are thrown into a mystery surrounding dead filmmakers and missing movie stars. Detective Montoya and Batman are on the case, which eventually leads to the discovery of Basil Karlo and his dark secret. Karlo was a prolific actor, known for playing horrific monsters. He was always considered to be an incredibly talented actor, a once-in-a-generation talent, but he was never given the role of leading man. Karlo was talented, but he was considered to not be handsome enough to be a leading man. He had the face of a monster and that was the only role he was given. This was coupled with the fact that Karlo was in love with his frequent co-star who wanted nothing to do with him and wouldn't even give him a moment of her time.

Being tossed aside because of his appearance caused a lot of resentment to build in Karlo. He sought strange and experimental solutions to fix his face, which led him to be injected with a serum. The serum allowed him to change his face. He presented his new face and his heart to the woman he loved, but she still rejected him and his face began to fall apart even further. This cemented his change from Basil Karlo to the villain Clayface . As Clayface, Basil went on a mission of vengeance. He could be anyone he wanted to be, making it almost impossible for anyone to stop him and his assault on all the people who had wronged him. Karlo can mold his face because of the serum and he uses his incredible acting talent to truly become the person he changes his face to be.

Clayface from DC Comics next to Robert Pattinson's Batman

Sorry, Batman Fans - THAT Clayface Likely Won't Work in The Batman 2

Clayface may appear in new DC movies, but his portrayal in The Batman: Part II will likely be based on his non-superpowered original incarnation.

Best Batman Movies	IMDb Rating
	9.0
	8.2
	7.3

Karlo in Caped Crusader is not the typical depiction of Clayface that fans are used to. Most modern interpretations are vastly different and much more monstrous. One of the most popular modern versions is from the Arkham video game series, in which Clayface plays a significant role in Batman: Arkham City. Clayface is a massive creature whose entire body is malleable and able to generate hammers with his fists or spikes that can fly out at Batman. The same can be said for the version of Clayface in the game Gotham Knights, which has a similarly powerful Clayface. Even in modern comics, Clayface is more well-known as a huge shape-shifting creature, rather than a man who is simply able to change his features. Harley Quinn and Batman: The Animated Series have also contributed to the public perception of who Clayface is as a villain. While this form works beautifully on the page and in animation, it would be much harder to pull off in live-action.

The world that Matt Reeves' is creating with The Batman is one rooted in noir storytelling and more grounded films. Throwing a massive CGI Clayface into that world would be jarring for not only the characters but for the audience as well. Everything about The Batman felt tangible and real, which would make bringing a modern Clayface into that world feel extremely odd. There would be nothing wrong with the modern version if the DCU wanted to bring him to life later on, but in the universe that The Batman is creating, seeing Matt Hagen or Sondar Fuller come to life and smash Batman with fists of clay or grow to the size of a building would take fans out of the story and the world.

Batman: Caped Crusader debuted its trailer

Batman: Caped Crusader Debuts With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score

The animated series Batman: Caped Crusader is a hit with the critics.

Best Episodes of Batman: TAS	IMDb Rating
Season 1, Episode 35 "Almost Got 'Em"	9.2
Season 1, Episode 17 "Two-Face: Part 1"	9.1
Season 2, Episode 9 "Trial"	9.1

Basil Karlo in Batman: Caped Crusader is the perfect blueprint for bringing the character to life in The Batman: Part II. Matt Reeves is already an executive producer on Caped Crusader , which likely means that he is very familiar with this version of Clayface, and may even favor him over other versions. For a character that can change his face like clay, Karlo's version is the most rooted in realism and feels like it could actually happen. If Pattinson's Batman had to solve a series of mysteries surrounding murders and missing people, like Caped Crusader, it would make it interesting for both the audience and the Dark Knight to try to figure out who was Karlo and who was actually the person they said they were. Basil Karlo could bring Clayface to live-action, without sacrificing the noir feel of The Batman universe.

Batman: Caped Crusader is on the right path to becoming as well-loved and essential to the Batman mythos as Batman: The Animated Series. The animation is beautiful, the voice acting is spectacular, and each character feels fresh while still instantly recognizable. The Batman: Part II may want to bring Clayface to life and Batman: Caped Crusader shows this is not only possible, but it shows the perfect way to create Clayface while still feeling authentic to the world of Reeves' Batman.

Batman: Caped Crusader (2024)

Dive into a thrilling, cinematic world where noir-ish shadows meet cutting-edge action, and a young Bruce Wayne faces his destiny as Batman.

The Batman Part II

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‎A Perfect World (1993) directed by Clint Eastwood • Reviews, film
A Perfect World
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A Perfect World movie review & film summary (1993)
"A Perfect World" contains a prison break, the taking of a hostage, a chase across Texas, two murders, various robberies, and a final confrontation between a fugitive and a lawman. It is not really about any of those things, however. It's deeper and more interesting than that. It's about the true nature of violence and about how the child is father to the man.
A Perfect World
Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/14/24 Full Review matthias s "A Perfect World" is a charming flick that skillfully weaves a tale of an unlikely bond between Kevin Costner's escaped ...
A Perfect World (1993)
An intelligent and resourceful prison escapee named Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner) takes an eight-year-old boy (T.J. Lowther) hostage, as Haynes roams across Texas in the early 1960s. Meanwhile, the authorities, headed by a Texas Ranger (Clint Eastwood), set out to capture Haynes, in an Airstream trailer.
A Perfect World (1993)
A Perfect World: Directed by Clint Eastwood. With Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T.J. Lowther. A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.
A Perfect World
Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 8, 2012. Tells the tale of an escaped convict and his eight-year-old hostage and, in the process, considers the cycles of disappointment wrought on sons by ...
A Perfect World
Generally Favorable Based on 24 Critic Reviews. 71. 71% Positive 17 Reviews. 29% Mixed 7 Reviews. 0% Negative 0 Reviews. All Reviews; ... A Perfect World is one of the Academy Award-winning actor-director's most unexpected, most satisfying films. ... Clint Eastwood & Kevin Costner are perfect in this movie. One of the best thrillers ever. Read ...
‎A Perfect World (1993) directed by Clint Eastwood • Reviews, film
A Perfect World is Eastwood's darkest timeline. The follow up to his masterpiece and crowning achievement Unforgiven, it continues his exploration of American violence through classic genre filmmaking. This time he is taking on the "ill-fated road movie" trope instead of the Western and he destroys it like a linebacker pulverizing a tackling dummy.
A Perfect World
A Perfect World is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood.It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy (T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child.Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit of the convict.. Though the film was not a box-office success in North America and grossed only $31 million for its ...
A Perfect World
A Perfect World Star Kevin Costner and director Clint Eastwood deliver lean, finely chiseled work in "A Perfect World," a somber, subtly nuanced study of an escaped con's complex relationship with ...
A Perfect World (1993)
The setup is such familiar material that you think the story is going to be flat and fast. But the screenplay by John Lee Hancock goes deep. And the direction by Clint Eastwood finds strange, quiet moments of perfect truth in the story. A deeply felt, deceptively simple film that marks the high point of Mr. Eastwood's directing career thus far.
A Perfect World
Movies. Popular; Now Playing; Upcoming; Top Rated; TV Shows. Popular; Airing Today; On TV; Top Rated; People. ... A Perfect World (1993) ← Back to main. Login to write a review. A review by r96sk. 80 % Written by r96sk on February 5, 2022. I'm a little split on 'A Perfect World', but one thing that is for certain is that I definitely enjoyed ...
The Darkness and Light of 'A Perfect World'
A Perfect World's narrative is set into motion by the taking of a hostage: an 8-year-old boy most people call Buzz (T.J. Lowther) by recent prison escapees Butch and Terry (Kevin Costner and Keith Szarabajka).I couldn't remember by the end of the film what the fugitives had had in mind when they were breaking into Buzz's suburban home: I'd gotten too wrapped up in the relationship that ...
A Perfect World; Where Destiny Is Sad and Scars Never Heal
"A Perfect World," a deeply felt, deceptively simple film that marks the high point of Mr. Eastwood's directing career thus far, could never be mistaken for a young man's movie.
A PERFECT WORLD
The man being chased is Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner), a lifelong criminal who breaks out of Huntsville Prison, where he was serving a 40-year sentence for armed robbery. He takes a hostage, 8-year ...
A Perfect World (1993)
Should you watch A Perfect World? Browse 1576 ratings, read reviews, watch the trailer, see the cast and crew, and check out statistics for this 1993 drama suspense/thriller crime film.
A Perfect World (1993)
Description by Wikipedia. A Perfect World is a 1993 adventure crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who befriends a young boy (T.J. Lowther), and ends up embarking on a road trip with the child. Eastwood co-stars as a Texas Ranger in pursuit of the convict.
A Perfect World
A Perfect World. By Peter Travers. November 24, 1993. Clint Eastwood, as Texas Ranger Red Garnett, teams up with Kevin Costner, as escaped convict Butch Haynes, for a gripping manhunt circa 1963 ...
A Perfect World (1993)
Overview. A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal. Clint Eastwood. Director. John Lee Hancock.
Why 'A Perfect World' Is Clint Eastwood's Most Underrated Movie
Compared to his other work, 1993's A Perfect World is somewhat of an anomaly. Eastwood has nearly forty directorial credits to his name and gravitates toward westerns, action films, and thrillers.
A Perfect World (1993)
Visit the movie page for 'A Perfect World' on Moviefone. Discover the movie's synopsis, cast details and release date. Watch trailers, exclusive interviews, and movie review.
A Perfect World Review
15. Original Title: A Perfect World. Even before the glorius triumph of of Unforgiven, a palpable sense of expectation greeted any project directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Add to the mix ...
A Perfect World
Check out the exclusive TV Guide movie review and see our movie rating for A Perfect World
A Perfect World
A Perfect World 1993, PG-13, 138 min. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, Laura Dern, T.J. Lowther. REVIEWED By Marc Savlov, Fri., Nov ...
There Are Only Two Perfect Sci-Fi Movies, According To Rotten ...
According to Rotten Tomatoes, these two sci-fi movies are perfect - by which we mean they both have a 100% score. ... "When at least 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive, a red ...
'Here to Climb' HBO Max Review: Stream It Or Skip It?
This story has been shared 10,404 times. 10,404 Where's Kelly Ripa This Week? 'Live' Co-Host's Absence Stretches Into Week Two This story has been shared 10,197 times. 10,197 Does 'Yellowstone ...
Chris Pratt
Garfield, voiced by Chris Pratt, is joined by Samuel L. Jackson as his father, in an inert big-screen adaptation that fundamentally misunderstands its protagonist. By Brandon Yu This dour ...
10 Cloverfield Lane Ending Explained: How It Connects To Cloverfield's
10 Cloverfield Lane received great reviews when it came out, and the audience also enjoyed it. Thanks to the low budget ($13-$15 million), it was a box office success, making $110.2 million (via Box Office Mojo), and much of that comes down to positive word of mouth. However, even the positive audience reviews didn't necessarily like the ending.
10th Avenue (TV Series 2024- )
10th Avenue: With Korede Soyinka, Elma Mbadiwe, Chimezie Imo, Caleb Richards. Whispers of revenge echo through the opulent halls of 10th Avenue Estate, Lagos' most exclusive neighborhood. This seemingly perfect paradise hides a dark side - a world of secrets, lies, and corruption where the wealthy play their games
The Caped Crusader Creates the Perfect Blueprint The Batman Part ...
Basil Karlo in Batman: Caped Crusader is the perfect blueprint for bringing the character to life in The Batman: Part II.Matt Reeves is already an executive producer on Caped Crusader, which likely means that he is very familiar with this version of Clayface, and may even favor him over other versions. For a character that can change his face like clay, Karlo's version is the most rooted in ...

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