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Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Melanie Griffith gives the performance of a lifetime in this majestic film, putting to bed the idea that "they don't make them like they used to." While technologically superior, Shining Through is similar to the motion pictures they made in the 1930's, with style, lavishness, and true star power. The tension is overwhelming throughout but it is the closing scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat. However, the characterizations are superb and as the thrills build one upon the other until that shattering climax, you feel you know all these people intimately and have a stake in their ultimate fate. The director does a magnificent job, working from a script that ranks with one of the greatest ever adaptations produced in Hollywood. The epic scope, realism, and stunning chemistry between Michael Douglas and the lovely Melanie Griffith lights up the screen. In fact, this is Hollywood at its finest, with the creative artists doing outstanding work, cinematography that is blinding in its beauty, and the overall recreation of time and place leaving one with a true sense of historical truth. Certainly an artistic triumph, the thrilling set piece scenes are incorporated with the drama perfectly and the romance is an integral part of the story. The gravitas of the era, when Nazi evil challenged the very foundations of Western Civilization, is treated with respect and reflects the courageous actions of those who opposed that evil in a way that makes this motion picture a fitting tribute to all who risked their lives to preserve human decency and civilization from the bloody clutches of the Reich's monstrous savagery. This a story that demanded to be told and the framing device of the veteran spies on a television talk show is emotionally overwhelming and deeply moving. A truly magnificent motion picture, intimately powerful and yet tremendous in historical scope, it will leave you breathless.

It's interesting to read through some of the IMDb reviews of this film. People either hate it or love it. I'm somewhere in the middle.The biggest criticism of this film is that the plot is improbable. Well, that's probably a fair criticism. Of course, if we dismissed all the movies Hollywood makes that are improbable...well, there wouldn't be much left. Of course, the problem here is that this is supposed to be a serious film.The second biggest criticism of this film is regarding the acting of Melanie Griffith. That's also a fair criticism. My feeling about Griffith always was that she was a limited actress that got lucky on a couple of films. And, this wasn't one of them.Michael Douglas -- the film lead -- does okay here, as far as I'm concerned. And, Liam Neeson as a German officer does fine, as well. Joely Richardson as a double agent was good, as well. The only disappointment in terms of significant supporting actors was John Gielgud, as a sympathetic German involved in spying. His part is so inconsequential that it could have been handled by an unknown actor.So, in terms of performances, some are decent, others are not, none are outstanding. One thing that the film is outstanding in is production values. Very impressive, actually.SO, from my perspective, overall, this is a decent film, and worth watching...once. And, just for the record, it was a money-maker.

This is a bad movie. As if there haven't been enough movies done about WWII. The movie begins with a supposedly older woman telling her story to the BBC about her spy work during WWII. Melanie Griffith was good in Working Girl. Why? That was about an ordinary American girl. Are we supposed to believe that she is fluent in German enough to fool the Germans? Why don't they get real American actors who are fluent in German, so after two lines in German they don't revert to English? I don't think so. She is the flakiest spy ever. About the only thing that she didn't do was go up to Hitler and say I am a spy for the Americans. I think I got really tired of Griffith's character, so much so that I felt for Michael Douglas. Why was he dragged into this movie, except to play a lover that has to put up with this female version of Inspector Clouseau? About the only good thing about the movie was Liam Neeson. He played a believable German officer. Sir John Gielgud played an older man, who was naturally cranky and unhappy about the spy that he was to look out after. This movie was pretty awful.

This is a terrible film, ruined by the catastrophic miscasting of the two leads. As the male lead, Michael Douglas gives one of the worst screen performances of the twentieth century. He manages to go all the way through the film without showing the slightest trace of any emotion whatever, despite the fact that the story contains much romance. It would be wrong to say that Douglas is wooden, as that is an insult to wood. Even stone is too good for him. Low-grade concrete would be more like it, the kind that crumbles and gives way. What is wrong with him? He has the eyes of a dead fish floating downstream, several days later. To say that there is no chemistry between him and the hapless Melanie Griffith is such an understatement that there is no point: how can you have chemistry with a corpse who kisses you? Melanie Griffith struggles valiantly to show emotion, and often succeeds, but she is walking in molasses. The situation is not helped by the fact that she was desperately miscast and is not at all well directed. Her soft voice is tragically wrong for the part, her quiet manner totally off beam. The underlying story seems to have been good, and Susan Isaacs's novel must have been interesting. In the second half, the film even becomes exciting despite itself, through the sheer power of the story, though the plot and details are all wrong in the film. The one splendid performance in the film, which is truly dazzling, is by Joely Richardson. She would have been a far, far better choice for the female lead. And Liam Neeson, who also does well, could have been the male lead. Why relegate those two fine actors to supporting roles? This whole film is simply a disaster. But if done properly, it could perhaps have been marvellous.