Tangled (2003)

One of my all time favorites.

Excellent but underrated film

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.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I have a habit of enjoying small scale thrillers, and figured Tangled looked good enough for me to spend some of my precious time on. Well, not only is this film not good enough to warrant using up ninety minutes of my time; it's arguably not even a thriller, seeing as the movie features nothing in the way of suspense; and doesn't make up for that with anything interesting about the characters or the situation. This is actually a real shame because the base of this movie is good and could easily have lead into something worthwhile; but the writers clearly weren't talented enough to capitalise on the promise. The plot focuses on a love triangle between three young people and as the film starts, one of the triangle has been admitted to hospital with plenty of bumps and bruises. He gets questioned by the police and the film then cuts to flashbacks which shows us what happened in the build up to him being beaten up and put in hospital. Turns out that there's a girl named Jenny at the bottom of it; and this starts a rivalry between two friends.The choice to have the film cutting back from flashbacks all the time was a big mistake; it's really annoying and means that the film doesn't flow very well, which certainly affects it in terms of tension and suspense. A film like this therefore really needs to have strong characters to work from; but it doesn't. None of the three central ones are really fleshed out and I didn't believe their relationships either. The three central cast members are not particularly good; they're not helped by the script, in fairness, but the performances are nothing special anyway. This is only the second time I've seen Rachael Leigh Cook in anything (Get Carter remake being the first) and I doubt I'll be seeking out anything else with her in it. Shawn Hatosy is as wooden as they come, while Jonathan Rhys Meyers does put some effort in but doesn't create a convincing character. The first hour is really quite dull and comes off as more of a drama than a thriller. The final third of the film is when the inevitable twist comes into play and while the finale is better than the rest of the film; it's really nothing to write home about. Overall, Tangled tries it's best to be clever but unfortunately fails and I wouldn't even recommend this as a decent timewaster.

The premise of "Tangled" is a promising one. It's the old story of unrequited love in a triangle of friends which leads to madness and violence. Could make for a thrilling movie, but for some reason "Tangled" was made more complex than it should be with its unnecessary flashback-storytelling and its "surprising" twist ending. A traditional approach would have made for a much more natural feel. Also, in the final third of the movie characters start to behave unbelievably, all for the sake of a more shocking "outcome". Leigh Cook and Rhys Meyers do their best to give their characters more credibility, but Shawn Hatosy and his wooden facial expressions make everything worse. "Tangled" is watchable if nothing else is on, but it's neither a good movie, nor a satisfying way to kill time.

I´m sorry, what was I supposed to feel at the end of this movie? (spoilers ahead) Was I supposed to be shocked because Shawn Hatosy´s character wasn´t such a nice guy after all? Was I supposed to feel sorry for Johnathan Rhys-Meyer´s character? Well, it didn´t happen. He slept with the girl after all, no one put a gun to his head. He had the drug at his house, no one force him. So, Im not sure what was all about in the end. The guy was a creep, he had it coming. So, his friend wasn´t such a wimp after all, that was a relief. I don´t know, I enjoyed the movie, but the end was kind of a waste, trying to turn the good guy into a semi psycho when all I think he did was to get the girl he loved. All right, maybe he went a little bit overboard, but who hasn´t, one way or another? I give this movie a 6/10.

When I received my copy of Tangled, I was expecting something not up to scale, but finally, I was quite surprised by the end result...This story of a love triangle, as told by a guy (David) who tries to survive an accident is a déjà-vu subject, but the use of flashbacks is like a piece of the puzzle, which we see the full result at the end of the movie.Rachael Leigh Cook did produce partly this movie, but it is sad that this movie hasn't been released on a wide basis (mostly for lack of interest). However, she passes the mark here. And shows that she has some sex appeal. Just for proof, she is better than Estella Warren here, who is a complete bore...Shawn Hatosy is a bit weak in the role of David, but Jonathan Rhys-Meyer steals the show as Alan here. Hoping this guy gets better roles one day as he shines here. Even I would say he was better than Ms.Cook (which I am a fan)... Good job also by Lorraine Bracco, that we never see often in motion pictures (I remember her in Medecine Man and GoodFellas...).The script is good, and the Toronto settings are quite convenient (just wondering if the story is settled in the U.S. or Toronto itself). The movie is quite entertaining, and of much better fare than those "Based on a true story" type films...Watch it if you like watching a story built like a good jigsaw puzzle, in which the end might surprise you !