I'm a little split on 'A Perfect World', but one thing that is for certain is that I definitely enjoyed watching it.
The reason that I'm split is because of how it portrays the lead character. I completely get the angle the filmmakers were going for, I'm just not convinced they pull it off. It's fun to watch, but I never once felt a connection to root for Kevin Costner's Butch.
There are many a time where I was just like "Huh?". It shows a number of events that you can tell are supposed to make you connect to Butch, but I just couldn't - he is super unlikeable, like the very first thing we see him do 'on the outside' defines him and the whole film. They could've wrote him in so many different ways, to give him a positive reason for what he does.
Yet, despite that it is entertaining, I cannot deny. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it works as a film for sure, but given it tries (too hard?) to attempt thought-provoking and deeper meaning I think it falls over itself - logically, I couldn't get on board. As a popcorn flick, I'm all in.
P.S. How amusing to see the 'Casper' connection, given the directing/acting Clint Eastwood would later make a cameo in the live-action film almost two years after this was released.