"JFK"  is a film that always elicits from me a bevy of strong emotions, both positive and negative.  It's a film I've viewed many times, and every time I've watched it,  I've  come away both loving it and hating it in equal measure.  I've never been able to decide whether it's  a bad "good" movie, or a good "bad" movie...

Why the ambivalence? "JFK"  is certainly (for the most part)  a well-acted film with a strong ensemble cast that includes Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Cromwell, Michael Rooker, and many other notable actors. The screenplay written  by Oliver Stone  is well-crafted, taut, tense, and fascinating. The cinematography, music, and special effects are all superb. The video and audio quality of the film's Blu-ray versions are all first-rate. "JFK" never fails to hold my interest from start to finish. From all these standpoints, I think "JFK" is an outstanding film.

But I have two major gripes that almost ruin "JFK" for me. First of all is Kevin Costner, whom I believe was totally miscast for the part of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. I remember Garrison from newsreel footage as a very tall, physically imposing man with an intimidating, "in-your-face" personality. In "JFK," Costner completely fails to capture Garrison's essence. I've always considered Costner a mediocre actor at best,  and usually at his worst while woodenly mumbling his dialogue without a hint of emotion;  in "JFK,"  he is even worse  than usual (bordering on absolutely terrible), woodenly  mumbling  his dialogue without a hint of emotion,  all the while making an absolutely atrocious attempt at a Southern accent.

My second gripe:  Oliver Stone, who both directed the film and wrote its screenplay,  hypothesizes an assassination  conspiracy theory that makes absolutely no sense to me.  Stone's contention seems to be that JFK was murdered by a combination of Mafia dons, CIA agents, army generals, Cuban expatriates, right wing extremists, and Lee Harvey Oswald... all under the aegis of none other than the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson!  To me, Stone's hypothesis seems like an attempt to please everyone who (like me) believes that Oswald did not act alone in murdering JFK.  I think Oliver Stone would have been much better served if he had focused on one specific conspiracy theory (for example, the CIA/Mafia connection, which I've always thought makes the most sense) and explained it in detail.

Stone's muddled, "let's-throw-mud-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks" conspiracy theory has gained so much traction over the years that it has somehow become, in many circles, the de facto account of how JFK met his death in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. From that perspective, Stone has, in effect, rewritten history. I think viewers of "JFK" would be prudent to remember that the version of events shown in the film is only one filmmaker's grand speculation, based his own interpretation of history, and not a history lesson in itself. Recommended, but only with strong reservations.
"JFK"  is a film that always elicits from me a bevy of strong emotions, both positive and negative. It's a film I've viewed many times, and every time I've watched it,  I've  come away both loving it and hating it in equal measure. I've never been able to decide whether it's  a bad "good" movie, or a good "bad" movie... Why the ambivalence? "JFK"  is certainly (for the most part)  a well-acted film with a strong ensemble cast that includes Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Cromwell, Michael Rooker, and many other notable actors. The screenplay written  by Oliver Stone  is well-crafted, taut, tense, and fascinating. The cinematography, music, and special effects are all superb. The video and audio quality of the film's Blu-ray versions are all first-rate. "JFK" never fails to hold my interest from start to finish. From all these standpoints, I think "JFK" is an outstanding film. But I have two major gripes that almost ruin "JFK" for me. First of all is Kevin Costner, whom I believe was totally miscast for the part of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. I remember Garrison from newsreel footage as a very tall, physically imposing man with an intimidating, "in-your-face" personality. In "JFK," Costner completely fails to capture Garrison's essence. I've always considered Costner a mediocre actor at best,  and usually at his worst while woodenly mumbling his dialogue without a hint of emotion;  in "JFK,"  he is even worse  than usual (bordering on absolutely terrible), woodenly  mumbling  his dialogue without a hint of emotion,  all the while making an absolutely atrocious attempt at a Southern accent. My second gripe:  Oliver Stone, who both directed the film and wrote its screenplay,  hypothesizes an assassination  conspiracy theory that makes absolutely no sense to me. Stone's contention seems to be that JFK was murdered by a combination of Mafia dons, CIA agents, army generals, Cuban expatriates, right wing extremists, and Lee Harvey Oswald... all under the aegis of none other than the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson! To me, Stone's hypothesis seems like an attempt to please everyone who (like me) believes that Oswald did not act alone in murdering JFK. I think Oliver Stone would have been much better served if he had focused on one specific conspiracy theory (for example, the CIA/Mafia connection, which I've always thought makes the most sense) and explained it in detail. Stone's muddled, "let's-throw-mud-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks" conspiracy theory has gained so much traction over the years that it has somehow become, in many circles, the de facto account of how JFK met his death in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. From that perspective, Stone has, in effect, rewritten history. I think viewers of "JFK" would be prudent to remember that the version of events shown in the film is only one filmmaker's grand speculation, based his own interpretation of history, and not a history lesson in itself. Recommended, but only with strong reservations.