User reviews

The movie is certainly worth a watch.It is the tale of a revenge seeking spouse's determined efforts to kill an almost untouchable criminal.It is based on a short story by Stephen King.There are a few changes,but it is true to the original story and the few changes in the story are effective.

The movie could be worth a rating of 9 or 9.5 if not for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the the movie.Emmanuelle Vaugier's dialogs are really bad and her acting is not great either.Wes Bentley as the protagonist was disappointing for the first 20 minutes but he is excellent thereafter as a determined,disoriented revenge-seeking monster. Christian Slater makes a lasting impact every time he is on the screen.

The music,editing,dialogs(barring the first few minutes),cinematography and performances are pretty good. Though the first 20 minutes of the movie are not noteworthy the last 20 minutes are in complete contrast and stand out.

The harmless school teacher Robinson (Bentley) seeks revenge on a cold and greedy crook (Slater) who had his wife killed. The plot is familiar, the details of the revenge rather ingenious.

This is actually a rather solid and effective chiller, based on Stephen King's memorable short story. Instead of adding countless new themes in an effort to show the audience that they are not "merely" making a horror flick, the filmmakers have added scenes that actually foreshadow and strengthen the ending.

This hardly classifies it as a classic, but I found surprisingly little to gripe about and actually one or two additions that I found impressive. Christian Slater seems to be enjoying his part without turning it into camp and Besley manages to convey some real human emotions without seeming to reach for the Oscars. In this sort of (short) movie, restraint is just as important as ideas, seeing as how countless thrillers just go overboard on a desperate quest for "impact".

The cinematography and sound engineering stand up to scrutiny and the minor parts are well executed. In short, this one works.

I liked this movie. Though its not a brilliant movie that blows your mind away, this still is a good watch. Its not the usual revenge flick with lotsa action and nothing more. This movie had originality in showing the revenge seeked by a husband whose wife got murdered by criminals because she was a witness of murders in a desert. I liked the way our hero was not shown as a superman who just walks and throws people away as if they were pieces of rough paper. This man is a normal guy who is scared of criminals but still wants revenge. He gets defeated by the villain quite a few number of times, but still does not give up. Realizing he can't win over them by just using guns and trying to kill them, he hatches a plan to seek revenge. And boy, what a method it was !! This movie really has one of the best climax in recent times. And the last scene is one of the most original scene I have seen in a long long time. Of course you know what would happen in the end but still you would like to watch it. Definitely recommended !!!

I feel I should start the review by saying whether I had previously read the Stephen King short story before watching this movie. As a matter of fact, I had. I didn't find it one of his better stories, namely because the story early on reveals exactly what the protagonist is planning, and subsequently does it. No surprises or twists. The screenplay for this movie does fix this, not revealing what the protagonist is planning until it happens (though there are a few hints along the way.) However, the screenplay does still have some flaws. It runs too long, a pitfall many movies adapted from short stories have. There are many scenes with Dolan that don't seem necessary. And there are some plot holes, like how the protagonist got Dolan's cell phone number.

Another flaw is with Slater. He tries REALLY hard, enough that he deserves an "A" for effort. But he's still the last person you'd imagine to be a gangster. Had someone older and more weathered been in his role, I think the movie would have worked better.

Still, there is some merit to be found. The production values are really good - this is one shot-in-Canada movie that actually manages to make you think it was shot in the United States. And the last half hour of the movie is very good, tense and gripping. If you can't find a better movie, and have the patience to sit through a so-so first hour for a really good last half hour, then I would recommend this movie.

It is really rare to have Christian Slater in such a nasty character role, and it is even more interesting to watch it out. It evokes the problem of illegal migrants and the business which is correlated to it. And stories where the lead character, especially a well know actor, is the evil dude of the story - TERMINATOR, COLLATERAL, M, UNHINGED - this kind of schemes have always interested me; an evil guy is always more interesting than a good one. In this movie, directing is pretty good for a B picture, Stephen King or not Stephen King. No length, only excitment and thrills. If you had seen THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS, a 1968 crime flick, also taking place in the vicinity of LV, you will notice some common elements with this one.

The director of DOLAN'S CADILLAC, Jeff Beesley, was told by his agent, "If you can't knock this movie outta the park, you might as well forget it - go back to pumping gas." Uh, Jeff, I got some bad news....

From a Stephen King short story of the same name (from the 1993 collection, Nightmares and Dreamscapes), screenwriter Richard Dooling misses the point completely and somehow thinks he can improve on a writing legend's plot elements - much like the rewriters of THE SOUND OF THUNDER (2005) had the brass balls to think they could improve on a Ray Bradbury story. DOLAN'S CADILLAC - a straight-to-DVD release - is another great Stephen King story wasted onto the small screen.

Robinson (Wes Bentley) and wife Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier) are a regular Las Vegas couple, whose life is upended when Elizabeth witnesses human-trafficker Dolan (Christian Slater) execute people in the Nevada desert. Dolan has her killed. Robinson gets revenge in a very unique, exacting way.

Dolan is chauffered around in a bulletproof Cadillac as fortified as a tank. In the short story, Robinson uses this fact to entomb Dolan in a highway grave, the first person narrative pathologically taking us through the meticulous life-planning and interesting physics of devising the trap. In the book, the "arc of descent" becomes a blueprint for Robinson's subterranean trap and a metaphor for his psychological and physical deterioration. While in the movie, the arc of descent is something that Dolan pulls out of thin air while standing at a pee trough. Was that the writer's subliminal message to us?: I'm URINATING ALL OVER STEPHEN KING!

King's characters are efficiently made two-dimensional by leaden Wes Bentley (whose terrifically vapid performance in GHOST RIDER must have scored him this role) and Christian Slater, getting drunk on Jack (Nicholson, not Daniels). The highway trap is merely a flat drop covered with tarpaulin. No science required.

In trying to extend King's story to movie length, instead of inserting all those interesting master plan elements, which would have drawn out the time compellingly, screenwriter Dooling puts in banalities: Robinson buying a Dirty Harry gun, Dolan extending his trafficking to children, Chinese mobsters, an FBI guy (Al Sapienza from THE SOPRANOS) and loads of black mascara for Wes Bentley in lieu of acting.

To hear director Beesley speak of his filmic debacle in the DVD Featurette is to wonder whether he has ever viewed his own film: "...extremely entertaining... a great ride... a Saturday night popcorn movie..." And here's the one that made peanuts fly out of my nose: "At its heart it's very much an art film." Choke. Gasp. Bwohahahahahaha!

King's story was an homage to Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado in subtle, disturbing ways; story described in detail how Dolan's highway grave could never be discovered. Beesley's movie gives us a scene of Robinson shifting a final stone slab into place over Dolan's screaming face, for the sole reason to echo Poe's (and King's) words, "For the love of God, no!" But this final homage is Beesley's final illogical mistake. The manner in which Beesley's trap is built is rife for discovery by authorities; the final stupid stone over Beesley's own face.

Poe and King have assured themselves their places in history. Beesley has assured himself a career at the Shell Gas-N-Go.

Fill 'er up please, Jeff.

Robinson (Wes Bentley) and his wife Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier) are fellow school teachers. Elizabeth is horse riding in the desert and runs across human traffickers. The fans in the truck broke down killing some of the girls. Elizabeth witnesses gangster pimp Jimmy Dolan (Christian Slater) killing the drivers and one girl trying to escape. She rides away but loses her phone. The couple reports it to the police but he is uninterested in the illegals. They go home to find one of the dead girls in their bed and they go to the FBI. She's committed to testifying but is killed in a car bomb. Robinson falls into a deep depression and then aims to take revenge. Meanwhile Dolan is disagreeing on payment with the Snakeheads.

Christian Slater is chewing up the screen. He is a good bad guy. Wes Bentley has crazy eyes. He looks like he's permanently tense. It doesn't allow him to change his character's feelings and the character goes through a lot of changes. It's one of the big problems. The other problem is the general lack of production value. I assume it's due to a lower budget and won't fault the movie for it. It has the basis of a good psychological thriller but Wes is not able to deliver it completely.

Just watched the movie a min ago, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. The story line is very good, and it keeps you hooked to it and wanting to get more out of it, but then all movies based on Stephen King's novels are. the acting was pretty decent as well, both lead actors played their role perfectly and I always saw that Christian Slater dose better roles as a villain, don't know he just have this evil look in him, The story was very real and without exaggeration, and it flows with the modern times that we are in, there is some action and some moments that just keep you on your feet. Some great lines and quotes are in there as well. Over all this is a pretty decant revenge movie, and I would recommend it to anyway who enjoys a good film.

A creepy tale of revenge belonging to a Stephen King's original short story from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, which was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. This better than average sinister movie to come from a King short novel centering around the hero's tenuous grip on reality . Dealing with Elizabeth (Emmanuelle Vaugier) who's happily married to loving husband Robinson (Wes Bentley) . While horse riding through the desert one evening, she witnesses the execution of two coyotes and an illegal immigrant by the human trafficker Jimmy Dolan (Christian Slater) and decides to report the incident to the police. She gets a promise of protection by police chief (Al Sapienza) if she testifies against him . Then she is targeted by Dolan for knowing too much. Robinson thinks Dolan is too powerful and well connected to be stopped , so he takes justice on his own hands. Later on , the young husband attempts to seek to avenge his wife's death after she is murdered by the Las Vegas mobster. For him and his mission to make him pay for what he has done in the most terrible way possible.

More a thriller than an all-out terror , this picture packs tension , suspense , violence , exploitation and amazing conclusion .Bases on a Stephen King's story , the horror writer extraordinaire , he's a prolific writer , here dealing with a short tale set in Las Vegas, in which school teachers Robinson and his wife Elizabeth are trying for a baby , but things go wrong when she's killed . King has a library load of books to his credit and a fan base of fanatic's eager to purchase any piece that pours from his platinum pen . Quite obviously many of his books have inspired movie adaptations, however surprisingly the transformation from page to cinema has not always been a successful one. Scanning a list of films based on King's work which features about 120 writing credits , there is a mixture of masterpieces and others mediocre , flops or stinkers . On the one hand we have horror classics like Carrie, The Shinning, Misery and The Mist . And on the other hand , B-movies , blowouts or failures films such as Thinner, Maximum Overdrive, The Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher , Running Man and The Langoliers. And Hollywood keeps buying up the rights to more of Stephen King's stories other directors could take . Casting is frankly decent, originally schemed to be played by Sylvester Stallone , in ¨Dolan's Cadillac¨ stands out Christian Slater as a Vegas crime lord who deals in human trafficking. After a shipment of girls goes wrong, he ends up killing half his cargo in the desert. Slater's scoundrel Dolan is the essential centre of the film, equal parts spitting out provoking soliloquies in Shakespearian style as well as sharp suited sleaziness and easily as swear words . While Wes Bentley is acceptable as teacher Robinson who's driven by vengeance and desperate for retribution, as Robinson spirals into madness consumed by his hatred and Wes does a solid job creating a character both sympathetic and slightly insane at the same time. And Emmanuelle Vaugier is nice as the beautiful wife who is witness an unceremonious execution resulting in fateful consequences.

The motion picture was professionally shot by director Jeff Beesley, who learnt his trade making TV shows, spinning a stylish and sisnister yarn with a surprising climax .Jeff Beesley is one of Canada's most exciting young filmmakers. With his unique cinematic vision, Jeff has achieved International acclaim for his body of work. His productions have screened at some of the world's most prestigious festivals and have won dozens of awards. Rating : 6/10 . Chilling climax this film offers something different with a good cast and a solid script which will have you absorbed from start to finish.

I didn't need to see this movie. I don't think anybody did, but I read the short story many times over the years. It's one of my favourite Nightmares and Dreamscape shorts from Stephen King and I was intrigued to see how they stretched the plot to make it into a feature length film! You don't need a synopsis from me, not on IMDb. Jimmy Dolan is a criminal living and operating out of Las Vegas. When keeping his nose clean means dispatching of Robinson's wife, it destroys his life and leads him to act out on the urge for revenge as the authorities fails to pin the crime on Dolan and his goons.

What I liked about the King story was that there was nothing to like about any of the characters, all but Tinker. He wrote it from Robinson's perspective and it was nothing short of psychopathic, which is refreshing compared to most revenge stories.

In the movie, the likability factor pretty much stays the same, but the makers seem to have made a point of giving Dolan and his crew all the entertainment value and most of the screen time. Personally, I'd have watched an hour and a half of Robinson planning and executing his revenge trip, but we're given snippets of him going through his trauma and falling apart and, sorry to say, it bored me.

Wes Bentley has never been one to watch, for me at least. It might just be the angry kid scowl permanently etched into his face, but here he does a great job and pulls off some very natural but often overlooked acting.

Christian Slater is just Christian Slater as always. I'm not saying he's incapable of acting because he puts some great energy into his role, but he's one of those actors that isn't cut out for defining different personalities. His face is incapable of change, it seems.

The most important part of the movie, now that my problems are out of the way, is Bentley's Robinson giving up school to join the road crew in the Nevada desert. That's when King's storytelling really transfers well, and the addition of Tink and Danny really add texture to this film's character.

The revenge plot itself and how Robinson goes through with it are superb. I found myself smiling most of the way through it and feeling satisfied by the end credits. Odd that a film can be so generic and run-of-the-mill until the final half hour blows you away, right? If you ever give it a try, read the story first and just skip to the end, that's my advice!

Having read the short story by Stephen King before viewing this film, i can clearly confirm that for anyone who is hoping for a faithful adaption, you may find yourself in two half's.

The film itself is average. The pacing at the start is spot on and the story should be intriguing enough for you wanting more. This said, I watched this film with a companion and unlike me, he hasn't read the story. I'm not going to moan about how the film isn't better than the book cause it's never is but what i will say is that my friend must of got confused during the final parts.

The main character, Robinson, takes up a job on the highways to get a grip of the machinery which he'll be using to execute his plan. This also involves him creating a illusionary canvas and setting up a false detour. I know all this because i've read the book, however, the film does such a awful job showing the characters emotions and there purposes that i'll warn you not to get upset when you find yourself lost.

Long story short, film is a mess. Bently at times was laughable, Slater had no swagger and Robinson's Partner was idiotic. I dunno, i loved the story but even if had never read it before setting eyes on the film, it wouldn't of made much difference.

A dissent psycho thriller, not bad at all… What we have here is Stephen King novel made movie. And we have not a typical Stephen King story. Nothing is out of the ordinary, nothing is so-o-o-o-o scary… Story unfolds, the rhythm and paste is fast, climax is logical, everything comes to its place... Emmanuelle Vaugier is beautiful and her Elizabeth is believable as a character. Christian Slater is very good, being bad-bad guy as "Dolan". His Cadillac is for real and takes center stage trough the entire film. I guess those ware some of the last advertiser's dollars GM used to spend before the bankruptcy… Music and sound editing is up to the level supporting the thriller suspense of this entire story. It could be one of many typical crime dramas that you forget 5 minutes after the final credits, but here we have something to remember. Dolan's Cadillac lives impressions in one's mind, makes you think, "What would I do, if I was there…" Well, making you think is the goal of every art including the art of cinema.

I do not want to get into too much detail about this movie, as it does not deserve that much time, however I do want to say this; THIS MOVIE SUCKS! Personally, I like Christian Slater and Wes Bentley but nothing could save this movie from the dreadful screen adaptation and directing. The movies first 30 minutes were so bad that I would not even give it the honor of having B movie status and the rest was so poorly acted due to the directing that you just wanted to shut the thing off. This movie will never make it to the big screen in the US, nor will most foreign markets entertain such horribly bad film making. The story was written by Stephen King and is a decent short story but about revenge but the only revenge should be on the audience wanting an hour and a half of their life back. (Important: Some movies are bad because the actors are bad, in this case the actors are bad because of the directing and not due to lack of skill.)