Tribute to Michael Clarke Dunkan

OK. So the big man is dead and I have a duty as a film critic to pay tribute to him. I’m not going to lie; I wasn’t a huge fan of his movies but credit should be given where it is due, the man could act. He might not have been in many great movies but no matter how ridiculous his role was or how absurd the movies premise was he always had the conviction required and always gave his character likeability.

As I said he hasn’t been in that many good movies in his career but some of them stand out, and I am going to talk about some of them.

“The Island” is a very entertaining film directed by Michael Bay, and has a very interesting premise: Pay enough money and you can have a clone of yourself made. It’s sort of an insurance policy because if, god forbid, you need a new kidney, a new liver, or a bone marrow transplant, you have a donor waiting for you to get sick just so they can give up their organs. It’s an exciting plot and is carried nicely by good acting but Michael Bay being the Antichrist to Steven Spielberg’s Messiah, goes and dumbs it down for the audience. Anyway Michael Clarke Duncan has a small but brilliant role in this film, and he can make you really scared about the stuff that happens in the film.

Duncan had another small but interesting role in “Sin City”, the black & white noir film based on Frank Miller’s comic book series of the same name. His role is pivotal in putting everything together and making the film whole. He is pretty menacing with his deep voice, his tall height, and his red eye (occasionally there are some colored objects in the otherwise black & white movie), and just the way he presents himself is very different from what he usually played.

And then of course we have the movie that defined his career. “The Green Mile” is known to make grown men cry, and not because that one guy steps on a cute mouse. Duncan is so tragic in the role, and it comes as a shock to those watching it for the first time because you wouldn’t expect someone that looks 7 feet tall and sounds like a gorilla, to be so sensitive and gentile. He is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the film and it is definitely worth watching for him alone.

Now I don’t want to rate these films because I am not really giving them full reviews, I’m just paying tribute to the big man and his legacy. R.I.P

What is your favorite M.C.D movie? Click here to cast your vote.