a_chinn Emilio Estevez made his directorial debut with this story of young lovers on the run. The story finds Estevez unable to get work because he stole a car in high school and has a criminal record, so fed up he decides to stick it to the man by robbing banks not of money, but by stealing loan and mortgage records to help farmers and working class folks. Estevez and girlfriend Demi Moore go on a cross country crime spree ALA Bonnie & Clyde, with the FBI hot on their trail. Unfortunately, the characters and story are not all that interesting or engaging, and the plot seems overly contrived, but the cast is likable, which besides Estevez and Moore includes Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright and Emilio's parents (Charlie Sheen has a cameo as the manager of a burger joint). As weak as this film was, I do want to give it credit for trying to be about something. There is a clear political agenda to the film, about the "little guy" being held down by rich and powerful interests, so I do want to comment Estevez for trying to make something beyond simple entertainment (even though it wasn't all that entertaining). It's kind of like when Steven Seagal threw in pro-environmental messages in "On Deadly Ground" and "Fire Down Below" and was able to reach audiences not commonly exposed to films espousing lefty politics. Danny Elfman composted the film's score (only his fourth film) and it sounds quite different from most of his scores, sounding much more like something by Stewart Copeland, which is actually kind fo cool. Overall, "Wisdom" is a weak film, but gets points for effort.

policy134 There seems to be a lot of divided opinions on this portal about whether or not Wisdom is a complete waste of time or whether or not the movie is brilliant.There are a lot of comments about how the ending is a cop-out and to those I say, take a look at it one more time. How could it not have ended the way it did? You are being set up at the very beginning. I think, although not brilliant, it is one of the more clever endings to come out of 80s movies.I think part of the reason some people don't like this movie is because they don't like Emilio Estevez and I can understand why. He doesn't really come off likable in any of his movies from the 80s or 90s, even though he was almost never cast as a villain in his entire career. He looks like a surly teenager almost all the time. That's probably the reason why he chose to star in The Mighty Ducks to kind of change his image.My rating of this movie is somewhere in the middle. It is one of the few films that dared to comment on Reagan's America and for that it deserves enormous recognition. Although, the theme was better commented on in Oliver Stone's Wall Street, let's keep in mind that this is by far a docu-drama like Wall Street. It isn't that smart but in it's own way a comment on the pursuit of fulfillment. Wisdom feels he has to contribute but goes about it very, very wrongheadedly.As for Emilio's acting, I think that it's the best that he ever did, except for maybe his performance in The Breakfast Club. He wasn't really challenged during his acting career, not even when playing a real person like Billy the Kid in the two Young Guns flicks, which were more like two-hour pop videos than actual biopics.There are also many talented people like Tom Skerritt, Veronica Carthwright and William Allen Young in the cast. Skerritt and Cartwright don't have much to do, except look worried, but Allen Young does deserve some credit for making a thankless part somewhat interesting. I haven't seen him do anything of note lately, except playing Brandy's dad in Moesha.So to those who hate this, let me just say: It's Estevez at his best. Does that mean that this is a great movie. No. But I can't recall I have ever seen him in a brilliant movie - except Breakfast Club.

David Clark Is it all a dream? This is one of the best movies ever for a sad ending thwarted by the idea that what was just seen was perhaps just a dream that only lasted a few minutes in the sub-conscious mind of the star of the film. Desperation from unemployment and early mistakes in life are taken on from the dark comedy perspective and Estevez decides to do the only job society has decided he is fit to perform, that of being a criminal. Interestingly society then becomes his largest supporter as he flees the law, until a chance encounter turns sour, and suddenly there appears only one possible outcome will prevail. Do yourself a favor and rent this one.

ghost-9 Who doesn't fantasize about trying to make the world a better place. Emilio Estevez is a charismatic actor who has written a good story and he plays the part well. Demi Moore is a doll in the film and I don't believe the movie takes itself too seriously, just seriously enough. It's not a movie that can be taken at face value. He's not saying we should burn mortgages anymore than Cameron is saying we should shoot up police departments in TERMINATOR.The movie is a power fantasy and says so. Well done, good job Mr. Estevez. I was going to give this movie an 8/10 but since it already has a low score, I'll give it a 10. I'm proud to own this movie on videotape. >