Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Let me start off first by saying, "snoozefest." OK, now on to the review. Yes, There Will Be Blood is a long movie, clocking in at almost 2 hrs and 40 minutes, although it feels like it's well over 3 hrs. You might ask if it is "that boring?" It is and it isn't. There are great performances and the editing fits the story of the movie. However, the pacing of the movie is on the slow side, not to say that a Michael Bay style would fit anywhere in here. In fact it shouldn't.
There Will Be Blood is loosely based off the Upton Sinclair novel, Oil! And it shows an intriguing look at the emergence of the oil industry at the beginning of the 20th century.
There are many similarities to the Orson Welles' classic, Citizen Kane. However, in Citizen Kane he had a Rosebud, and in this film there isn't that hearty quality. It is purely watching a greedy menace become even crazier and maniacal when he becomes a big player in the industry. Director Paul Thomas Anderson does a great job of constructing this character who cares about nothing more than himself. And Daniel Day Lewis perfectly slides into this greed stricken oil tycoon, and his Academy Award is more than justified. If he weren't in this movie, I don't know how the movie could have been made.
Citizen Kane went on to become one of the most notable films in movie history, and some of you might say that There Will Be Blood is an instant classic. I can also envision film history classes at colleges showing this film, for it to be meticulously deconstructed and theorized by its students. However, I, at the moment, am not so sure that it is right up there with Citizen Kane. There Will Be Blood is a great story, filled with great performances. However, some parts tend to step out of it's zone, even though just very subtly. And well, the length of the film is much to sit through. I was at times zoning in an out. Personally, I think Magnolia and Boogie Nights fare better as Paul Thomas Anderson films and they are just as long or even longer.
3.5 out of 5