Rob Blackwelder's perspective on films seems more fitting than others who dislike anything that is out of the ordinary or goes beyond the 'boundaries' set by most Hollywood films. He takes notice to the minute details that make films different from one another, ignoring obvious flaws or irritations in a film that other critics blow out of proportion. In this review Blackwelder talks of the formulation of the plot, the vague beginning and ending that was surprisingly effective, and how the actors fit their roles so well.

A non-linear, emotionally escalating collage of three lives on a tragic collision course, the film is blessed with innovative storytelling and the raw, stellar performances of its three lead actors, who completely disappear into their roles.

A great movie is never truly defined by its storyline or its actors but by how it is shot and edited. '21 grams' captures the perfect form of a movie with flashbacks and a view into the future. Along with this truly mastered way of filming by Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu, the gripping story of 3 strangers that meet in one life altering event and finaly give a conclusion to their twisted lives.

The effect is not disorienting because there's a powerful emotional thread that emerges as the film's fractured timelines slowly come together and reveal how these characters' lives have been suddenly torn apart by the one moment in time that connects them.

Blackwelder later adds that Iñárritu also used this, flashback and forward, type of storytelling with the same climactic event in 'Amores Perros'. The difference being the type of actors used in each films' roles.

In his 2001 Mexican import "Amores Perros," Iñárritu used similar storytelling techniques and a similar seminal event -- a car crash -- to weave together a tapestry of crisscrossing stories. But it isn't his ingeniously interlaced stylistic ingenuity that drives "21 Grams" -- it's the acting.

I liked that Blackwelder told readers the negative sides of the movie before explaining anything else. It shows me that he is telling everyone right off the bat that if you don't like movies with this type of style than you probably shouldn't see the movie. On the other hand, if you keep reading he goes more in depth on how the movie is put together and how well character roles were chosen.