The highlights of this film about Jesuit priests in the South American jungles are beautiful cinematography and an intriguing score. There are a lot more lowlights. De Niro goes from a slave trader and killer to a noble hero but the transformation is not believable because the character has no depth. He is redeemed, he cries, he laughs, he gets a hug from Irons, but we have no idea what's going on inside. His line "Are you laughing at me?" is almost a parody of his "Are you talking to me?" from "Taxi Driver." Joffe has no feel for pace as he lets the camera linger on mundane events, making the film seem about seven hours long. Even the big finale is a letdown, with poorly staged battle scenes.
Review of The Mission
