Set in the Great Depression of the US in 1931, it stars Tom Hanks, Jude Law and Paul Newman.

"With enough twists and turns to compile an A to Z, it is more compelling than the average depressing depression-era drama," said BBC News Online's Ian Youngs.

But what did you think?

This debate is now closed. Please see below for a selection of your comments.

I'm always amazed that people still think American Beauty was a good movie. It shouldn't have even gotten an honorable mention, but watching Paul Newman and Tom Hanks was like tasting fine wine. I thought these two were great together and the story very worthy. I loved the contrast both emotional and visually.
Ron Shufflebarger, US, Kansas

Complete pap - men with guns shooting one other in a fairly predictable and morally repugnant way, interspsersed with scenes of cringing sentimentality, all overlain with a banal and intrusive score and "tasteful" lighting. For someone whose favourite all-time film is American Beauty, this was a supreme disappointment.
Scott, Spain

Wonderful. Nothing better since American Beauty.
Lec Neluhi, England

Perdition, as it turns out, is just a fancy-shmancy term for the word hell. The Road to Perdition, as it turns out, is just a beautiful telling of a dissapointingly straight forward story of a run-of-the-mill gangster, played rather blandly by Tom Hanks.
Romulo Zarzuela, US

Disappointing... Predictable.
Luisa Abel, US

Not the most complex story but thoroughly emotive

Ashley Brown, UK

RTP is a beautifully shot picture. The shadows and the lighting makes this movie a cut above similar films in this genre. It tries to be a bit too profound and deep and that doesnt really help. But the tommy guns and fedora hats look really cool.
Haris Hussain, UK

Great film, superbly put together. Best thing about it is the score, closely followed by the direction, cinematography and the acting. Not the most complex story but thoroughly emotive.
Ashley Brown, UK

Superb movie. Some people may not like it because it is so real and so harsh in its reality - but I feel that's just a weakness of those watching it. Every death in this movie was felt, it was harsh and it was momentous and I appreciate that, it's about time someone made a movie that showed reverence to just how harsh death really is.
Patrick, USA

A fascinating twist on the gangster film genre - all the more remarkable when one remembers it is based on a graphic novel. Hanks and Newman are both very good - but Jude Law ! He steals everything but the cameras !
Robert del Valle, USA

The cinamatography is striking but too many shots try too hard to impress which makes the movie rather stiff

Jack, USA

Road to Perdition is a subtle, moving drama. The Sopranos brutality and amorality is a typical Hollywood mob image; Perdition is a man wrestling with his two primary codes of honor: Family or the Family. It's also astoundingly gorgeous - true to its graphic novel roots. The light is tactile.
Karina, Nearish Hollywood

A superb film! The most Oscar-worthy so far this year!
Jack, USA

This is really a good movie. A drama perfectly pictured with ample emotive scenes. Overall the movie doesn't bore you as you see it by.
S. Md. Kabeer Ahmed, India

The diner scenes are excellent. Acting is universally good. This is not a "format" movie. I'll see it again.
Sally Dee, Canada

I certainly was not as smitten by Mr. Mendes' American Beauty as some. But as a fan of "period" gangster pictures I was quite looking forward to RtP. Alas, it disappoints. Hanks is siutably pudgy and gruff but also bland. The cinamatography is striking but too many shots try too hard to impress which makes the movie rather stiff. Most annoying is the use of music. It plays constantly under every scene. Quiet is much more effective. On the plus side, Paul Newman and Jude Law are outstanding.
Jack, USA

Terribly dull and deadening. Without any discernible passion - neither humour nor sadness

Daniel Meldrum, UK

Sam Mendes has certainly honed his craft in the last two years: but only in a technical sense. Underneath the beautiful exterior, Perdition has only the most obvious and simplistic things to say about its central premise of the relationships between families, especially fathers and sons.

Whereas in American Beauty Mendes' theatrical roots helped Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning embody their characters and overcome their star personas, our sympathy with Tom Hanks in Perdition comes only from assosiating him with moral and decent characters. Contrary to some opinions, Hanks embodies the character of a stone cold killer well: but that is all. There is no moral decency anywhere within the character, and to accept the film we have to believe it is there.

Mendes does a wonderful job bringing out the visual possibilities of the material, and this is where the film's strengths lie. Which is a sad regression to atypical Hollywood direction from a director who won an Oscar for going against cliches in his first film.
Phil Colvin, UK

Terribly dull and deadening. Without any discernible passion - neither humour nor sadness. Hanks is distant, while Law is too exaggerated to be believable. The photography was beautiful, but further sanitised the film. All in all - depressing.
Daniel Meldrum, UK

The cinematography is superb and the score is worth an Oscar nomination

Ray Bennett, England

I would urge everybody to go and read the original graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner. The film is good, but doesn't reach the heights of the source material.
Ian Pointer, UK

Movie is good and touching. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman have acted very well and Tyler Hoechlin has a very promising future. Some of the scene i.e. with the bookie is stereotypical. The end is very predictable.
N.Kikkeri, USA

Gripping cinematography, excellent score and superb direction - the sequence where Sullivan and Rooney meet in the rain is pure magic.
Hadassah, India

Just like American Beauty this movie looks beautiful but doesn't mean a single thing. Please can the Academy praise Conrad Hall high enough so that we can tell the difference between the smoke and the fire and move on. In summary: less than average copycat movie.
David, Canada

I've just got back from seeing it. The cinematography is superb and the score is worth an Oscar nomination. Did anyone else notice the modern day train going over the bridge as we entered Chicago? Other than that, very well written, pity it wasn't longer!
Ray Bennett, England

Astoundingly atmospheric. Hanks once again shows his incredible flexibility as an actor. Paul Newman plays the steely-eyed old bird, a role he has played several times before. The story is excellent but Hanks' tragic hero may as well be wearing a sandwich board saying what the ending would be. While watching I did wonder the unthinkable: would he make a good James Bond?
Jim, UK

I loved the film. It was well acted by all the key players and Sam Mendes did not dwell on the violence of the era when it would have been so easy to have overdosed on it and battered the audience senseless. The melancholic conclusion may have been predictable but it was nonetheless hugely moving, set against the lovely score. I saw it over its first weekend in London and 40% of the audience sat through the closing credits which must be close to a modern day record. I, like Sally Dee of Canada, would like to see it again.
Weenson, United Kingdom