Red State reviewed by Mark Kermode

Mark reviews Kevin Smith's horror about a group of Christian fundamentalists with a sinister agenda.

[@TheWaynos73]

Red State is the best thing Kevin Smith has ever made. Simply brilliant.

[@dravenuk]

I'm with Kermode on this one. Cop Out was terrible. And while Red State may be far from perfect it at least is interesting and is actually about something. It has a voice. Plus it has a great performance from Michael Parks. I liked it.

[@Robmc0381]

If you think Dogma is the worst film you have sat through you need to see more films. I like Dogma it has some very good points to make

[@TheBarisaxman17]

Dogma is one of my favorites. Definitely top 3 from Smith. I've seen it so many times and Affleck/Damon are awesome in it.

[@user-rt9zq8rs9k]

DOGMA is the only religious movie I never fell asleep watching . Kevin Smith got death threats and even rocks breaking his windows at his house before it was released . Kevin Smith is still alive after it's release . I like to think every year a new generation of kids will see the movie and then pick up a Bible looking for the poop demon .

[@nazirkazi2588]

@@user-rt9zq8rs9k You may not have watched The Life Of Brian then.

[@MaskedManMikeMD]

i wonder of he acknowledges that kevin was hired to DIRECT cop out. not WRITE it. he didnt WRITE it.

[@Fallen7X7]

John Goodman was awesome in this movie.

[@InfectedByEli]

Yeah, it was a reminder that he can actually act, and act well. Pity he doesn't do it more often.

[@TheWaynos73]

Goodman is always great. He gets a great scene in The Gambler too.

[@Sunomis]

"Of course I was right all along". You've got to love Kermode's ingenuous arrogance.

[@questionitall3053]

Mark Kermode is THE best film reviewer.... in the world!

[@mattalgrand]

I feel like RED STATE needs a critical reevaluation.

[@denken_dunken]

Nice to see your very accurate comment re. Red State getting top billing. If you're interested, read "A Dream of Perfect Reception: The Movies of Quentin Tarantino" by Gary Groth. It's a short essay on the MIT Press Journals website written near the start of Tarantino's career. (I read it back in the late 90s!) Even so, it remains relevant, which is telling. It doesn't pull any punches. "Americans love junk; it's not the junk that bothers me; it's the love." - Goerge Santayana

[@user-rt9zq8rs9k]

Quentin Tarantino endorses RED STATE .

[@Onmysheet]

It was brilliantly acted but something felt missing, the ending just fell flat.

[@MrPeteybelljr]

ironically, the guy who played the preacher was discovered by kevin in Dusk till Dawn, a tarantino written film.

[@MisterKauffman]

Kermode hit the nail on the head. It's absolutely Kevin Smith's best film since "Clerks", with that same raw filmmaking energy that made him stand out a long time ago, before he went down a path of dull mediocrity. I also agree that the film's erratic feel makes it more interesting (genre is a boring concept, IMO).

[@666deadman1988]

Totally agree with Kermode here. Red State is a true return to form for Kevin Smith whether you like his work or not. Personally, I think Smith is a better writer than a director, and the biggest problem for Cop Out was the script. Kevin Smith writing AND directing his own work is the way he should always be.

[@RedlegsBluelegs]

Red State was great probably Kevin Smiths most complex writing and intense work.

[@flickded]

That's true to a certain extent. If he had written the three teenagers he would have them talking about pop culture nonstop which fits their characters really well. I think if he wrote the preacher he would have written him similar to Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. I think how much you agree with me depends on how much you like Tarantino's style and I love it

[@logangray1912]

Dogma bored me to death. Red State is awesome! I think that I prefer the latter way of approaching the topic of religion. Also, the final line of the movie is brilliant!

[@Grifftinderpals]

'Eventually' 😀

[@availdname]

Kevin Smith made Cop Out, Red State and is going to make Clerks 3 as part of a "ending trilogy" or something along those lines, as he says that a lot of directors make a big debut into films but not a big exit. Cop Out was a studio script that would mean he had was able to work with his childhood hero and see if he could work with a studio script, appose to a person film, taking form his friend Ben Affleck. It's in his "Threeving". Still a rubbish movie, but that was his logic. Stupid as it is.

[@xpallodoc]

Red State wasn't boring, but unsatisfying yes. Plots that went no where and realistic story that felt fake... Had all the right elements but failed in my eyes. Didn't hate it but didn't like it.

[@majorccunliffe4662]

very good film,goodman and parks performances were outstanding, a firm 9

[@Wedsheport]

Tarantino has stated multiple times that Michael Parks is one of his all-time favourite actors. Why would he recast the role?

[@sobbyhasselhoff]

Gives away the whole story then says "I'm not going to give anything away" 😂

[@flickded]

The movie wasn't terrible but it was very mediocre, I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I wish that somehow Tarantino had re-written the script, directed it using a film camera and not a digital one then recast the preachers role giving it to Bryan Cranston.

[@fabs680]

@van8ryan Yes, it's reminiscent of Psycho but Red States way of changing protagonist was way less satisfying to me.

[@chanceie12]

this seems like a bit of a marmite movie , some love it some hate it... I Loved it.

[@angelareele858]

The last 19 seconds are profound.....paraphrase**good filmmakers know, bad film**

[@rfi-cryptolab4251]

Mark Comode.

[@Nopperabou]

The shootout was rediculous. It went on forever and the ATF guys were just standing around in the one place getting shot. Several characters who had been given backstory and motivation just got shot as if he didn't know what to do with them. The movie had some well done moments but the story was a mess.

[@fuckem187]

agreed i thought it was very very mediocre.

[@fuckem187]

I hated it, it was stupid, dull and had no depth as others have been saying, yes ive seen the preacher and mental Christian doctrine thousands of times.

[@rmccaw7]

are you serious? the film was not "very mediocre". it was as good as it could be. it fulfilled all its potential. the script was excellent ("I think it's the use of the word 'repeat' that makes this work every time", etc), the violence was shocking and inventive, the atmosphere was frightening and foreboding, the structure was unpredictable and unconventional, the performances (particularly Parks & Goodman) were very strong. It's a superb indie horror/thriller. Not worthy of your criticism.

[@hennyM5]

if Tarantino had rewritten it, the film would be 3 hours long, consist of two tedious, repetitive and self-indulgent, filled with references to things no one cares about. if someone like Andrew Dominik had rewritten it, it could have been improved a little, but as it is it's a very good film

[@shadynagib4235]

mark, you gave way too much on your reviews that ruined a couple of classics for me, it's infuriating. I tend to listen to your reviews post watching the films now after learning from my mistakes

[@chrishybes840]

The guy in the suit is annoying

[@InfectedByEli]

Go home, Kevin. Nobody cares.

[@jacobgalloway9123]

Let's see your film catalogue, then I will decide if I value your opinion or not. Your "best selling" book aside.

[@kikibooboos]

I love Kermode. I always trust his reviews, but I have to disagree with him here. Didn't like Red State at all. t thought it was all over the place. Messy film making for me.

[@MetaKnight964]

The fundamentalists weren't right-wing they were authoritarian, I'm sick of people correlating right-wingers to terrorism and criminal activity (though the reviewer didn't seem to intend that). And they weren't Christians either they were called 5 pointers in the movie. And I admit I haven't seen all the movie.

[@gb420]

Yeah, we all know right wingers are mostly just greedy, racist, assholes.