XIII (2008)

Good movie but grossly overrated

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I couldn't get enough of XIII one. Then the directing of two and the acting went south. It was hard to watch. Nothing seemed to be truly believable even by the actors. Their movements and feelings were so unbelievable and even fake that the story got lost. Did the director or writers change? Even the same actors gave the feeling that they could hardly wait to get this over with. Very disappointing .

The story line is very good. There are holes but for the sake of keeping the viewer intense, it is okay. The actors are quite believable. The action scenes are good. I really enjoyed this movie. If you like conspiracy stories - this one, is one of the best, and very well delivered. The character I liked most was of Greg Bryk playing Colonel Amos running the government intelligence. This character is just brilliant!Stephen Dorff could have been better. It seems as if he tries to imitate Jason Statham, being a bad ass. But all and all I liked him.To sum it up - I really hoped there would be another sequel.

I just watched this as they aired the series as one 171-minute long movie, but it didn't feel long at all since there's always something interesting or at least exciting going on in this show/movie. Honestly, I'm not that familiar with the Bourne character or saga (I've only seen one of the installments, plus the older TV show with Richard Chamberlain as Bourne) but I think this one is enjoyable on its own terms.The premise is similar to "Bourne": a man wakes up suffering from heavy amnesia, unable to remember his name or any whereabouts about his life before that moment. He soon finds out that the president of the US has been assassinated and that he is being chased after, and that he has a tattoo on his upper chest with the number "XIII". From that on, he will have to survive and find out who he is and why he has so many and such fierce enemies.The plot is quite smart, it does not provide (or need) many cliffhangers or unexpected turns until the final part. It is also a smarter-than-average plot for what you would expect from an action movie. The characters are not terribly well developed, but all or most main actors do a good job.

I saw this 2 part "movie" last night on French TV.I obviously can't comment on how the actors "sounded" as I was seeing it dubbed into french.In the french version however, all the characters sounded like they where in character (earlier reviews suggested that Dorf didn't sound like he cared!?).I admit that I was often thinking "oh it's Jason Bourne", but really it is just the amnesia (and trained assassin) that link the 2.But this didn't detract from the experience, they are different enough not to step on each other's toes.Some have complained that the distances traveled are "unbelievable", remember TV and Cinema is about suspension of disbelief, so these things generally don't worry me too much.Val Kilmer (we don't see him enough) was excellent as the bad guy. Good on him to take the plunge into "evil parts", I look forward to more "evilness" from him, which should be good.I haven't read the comics, but I would agree that the end of the 2 part series leaves me wanting to know what happens from here. So I guess a full mini series is on the cards at some point in the future ??? Who knows.I enjoyed the plot, and it was a good way to spend a few hours in front of the TV.