4/5 Sinfully delicious...
  by Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
Yes, this plot tends to derail the film in parts (I mean really, this is not a realistic film at all), but the performances, the stunning direction, the love scenes, the steamy chemistry and the art direction (those sets are glorious) make this a very rewarding and splendidly desirable movie to watch. I like how some state this is `so bad it's good', but I really don't think it's `bad' at all. It's sleek, sensual and provoking, not to mention gorgeous to look at.

The film centers around the whirlwind romance between a wealthy Cuban coffee plantation owner named Luis who sends away for a mail-order bride named Julia only to find that she is far from what he expected. The two are obviously very attracted to one another and soon fall into love, or so it seems. When Julia disappears with all of Luis's money, not to mention his heart, he sets out to find her and exact his revenge. His journey leads him to find a world filled to the brim with intrigue, danger and romance.

The first half of the film is a stunning unraveling of love and lust, and Angelina Jolie's languid sensuality coupled with Antonia Banderas's fearlessness really elevates the scenes and creates something that feels beautiful yet almost dirty; tender yet dangerous. The second half of the film starts strong, with wild splashes of color and deftly cultivated sequences of desire, but soon after the couple is reunited the sudden game of cat-and-mouse starts to delve into tediousness. The ending to me was a cop-out (even if it's what you secretly are desiring) and it gave the film an almost camp like feeling (the way the character's seem to be toying with you is somewhat off putting in a `look we can be funny' kind of way).

It's that last quarter of the film that really drives a nail in the coffin for me.

As for the bulk of the film though, `Original Sin' really does it for me. Jolie is a very spirited and competent performer. The only fault that could be found her is that she does rest on her natural desirable qualities in a lot of her work (very reminiscent of Johansson in that regard) but when the script calls for it, how can you `fault' her. The script definitely calls for it here, and she delivers. You believe her, even when the dialog seems to be fighting against her (the fiery "because I was falling in love with my husband!" scene is a bit contrived, but she makes it work somehow). Banderas doesn't fare as well as Jolie, but he goes for it. I've always enjoyed him, but I've always found his acting a bit awkward. I think it's the way he speaks for me. I love when foreign actors convert to English films (I love foreign actors, period) but some have trouble with the language and they speak in way that makes each word almost seem like a struggle. Banderas gives me that vibe, thus making some of his dialog seem unconvincing.

For me, this biggest acting glitch is Thomas Jane (who ruins a lot of the second half for me as well) and honestly feel if the part had been recast the film would have worked much better in the end, but then again, the character was pretty horrible to begin with.

So, watch the movie. It is not as bad as some claim it to be, and even when it falls short it makes up for it in other areas. Some say this is a skin flick (the unrated version certainly straddles the fence of `adult entertainment') but there is more here than that. The darkness attributed to the plot adds a layer to the film that takes it out of that lazy category and gives it a life of its own.

3/5 skin flick
  by Lady of U.S.
I saw this movie once. Yes two of the most beautiful people in Hollywood are in it...and yes I am an avid and consistant super fan of Angie...and yes this is a love story. I really cannot tell you how it is a love story because 70% of it is sex-almost soft core porn like what is found around 10:20 p.m. on Cinemax. I did not see the unrated version but I am pretty sure I wont any time soon.

3/5 Love Is Blind
  by Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
Here's a "steamy" film - at least early on - about a Cuban (Antonio Bandaras_ who marries an American woman he had only previously written to, only to find out later she (Angelina Jolie) wasn't that woman but a scheming impostor (Billy Bob found this out in real life!)

This is nicely photographed, "lush" being the best adjective to describe it. I didn't find the story very involving, yet it wasn't boring and I could relate to Bandaras' character. Perhaps many men could with the old "love is blind" story.

****possible spoileers****This is one of those films with poor messages here and there where corrupt people live happily ever after despite their overt sins. There is an "R" version and a "unrated" version of this film, the latter being two minutes longer.


4/5 Just like the romances we read, only darker.
  by Maria Augusto (Santos, Brazil)
It is not as bad as many reviewers claim. Actually, I give this movie 3,5.
This is the story of a Cuban coffee farmer, Luis (Antonio Banderas) who asks to be brought from the USA, a woman so he can marry and have children. As he works too much, he has no time for knowing a woman the usual way. He becomes astonished when at the port, he looks at his future wife, a very beautiful woman called Julia (Angelina Jolie). The actors have a real chemistry, it can be seen whenever they look at each other and in the famous sensual scenes. Julia has a mysterious past and constant nightmares trouble her. The story becomes a bit confused as a letter is exchanged between Julia and her supposed sister. Then, we have the appearance of a weird detective, Walter Downs (Thomas Jane) and the subsequent Julia's disappearance. From that point on, Luis travels to Havana searching for his wife and his life turns upside down... I didn't like Angelina Jolie's character very much, her betrayal,even though you will see, her past follows her to the present and she cannot get rid of it. But we still have some surprises inside the top hat... Summing up, the movie is worth seeing, at least for the very beautiful couple, Banderas and Jolie.

4/5 very hot and a solid film in general. the critics are wrong again
  by Christopher Valentino (Huntingdon valley ,PA)
I really liked this film the story has a lot of twist and turns but it's a very sexy movie I really liked the script and their are some flaws believe me but for the most part I would recomend this to any fan of the actors/actresses of this film.