Movie Review of 3,000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

3,000 Miles to Graceland (2001)


Making their deeds the field for their egos, using the working of discrimination of the mind as seed, beclouding the mind by ignorance, fertilizing it with the rain of craving desires, irrigating it by the wilfulness of egotism, they add the conception of evil, and carry this incarnation of delusion about with them.
- The Buddha

Kurt Russell plays Michael Zane the hero/robber and Kevin Costner plays Murphy the villain/robber, part of a gang that robs a casino during Elvis week. Murphy believes he is the actual illegitimate son of The King.

At one point Murphy explains to the child that although he is a really bad guy, Zane is also a bad guy. At one point Zane says, “Guys like me die caught.” It seems the writers forgot this. Courtney Cox plays the type of mother who makes most women cringe.

This movie is a giant love affair with guns and bad guys with a little Elvis on the side. Slow motion murder backed by heavy music takes up much of the story, what little story there is. We are expected to like the hero(?) because he goes back to save a child. That is supposed to make us overlook his contribution to the slaughters.

I think the continuous hail of bullets is a distraction for the boredom in between. The only bright spot is during the end credits when Kurt Russell lip syncs to an Elvin song.

This kind of movie has no redeeming value and fills the mind with violent callous images. There is no karmic justice. Not at all suitable for family viewing.