Audience Member
This movie is very hard to review. The acting is horrible, but to be honest its more just a product of the 90's angsty way of acting all the younger directors were pushing for at the time. The movie is a intended to be a little uncomofrtable showing the horrors of war in a way that was uncommon at the time.
The plot is fine, in many ways it shows the horrors of what happened in the death factory very well...even if the 2nd half feels a little like an old john wayne ww2 movie mixed with the modern horrors of war aesthetic.
The props are hilariously bad and break you out of the movie. For example, the opening shots have a spirit holloween skeleton on fire in a tree...so evidently this soldier was hit with something that...melted all of its skin and flesh off? Another big example are the uniforms, many of the side characters are wearing things that literally look like puffy windbreakers in olive drab.
Now, lets talk about the good.
1. your going to see a lot of faces you recognize from when they were on the come up.
2. Prior to "call of duty world war II" this was the only piece of popular media discussing the hurtgen forest really, its often overlooked for the reasons the movie illustrates well. It was a f*** up by command who were to busy zooming out and looking at the macro situation. The Death Factory was essentially ignored while other areas of the front lines were gaining ground. It was a blind spot on the front line in many, many ways. Just one small piece of the fog of war at the highest of command levels.
3. It does a very good job portraying the life for replacements in ww2. Many of the casualties were replacements. You either were the old breed, or a dead man walking until you were in combat for long enough to learn the lessons needed to survive (not counting the luck factor).
4. The patrols are surprisingly accurate
5. The movie is intense and keeps the tension high.
6. The casting for the replacements at first glance seems horrible until you consider this is later in the war when many overweight men, men with glasses, undersized men, men with health issues, and frankly undertrained were pushed to the front lines because the thing the US needed more than anything was bodies. This is how the war was won, throwing bodies at the problem. We talk about how thats what the soviets did, but the US was too. We out produced the enemy, and had more men than the enemy.
7. Its the only ww2 movie ive ever seen where they actually show the commander to be an a$$hole even when he is in person seeing the carnage (not counting band of brothers with sobel, its a different kind of a$$hole then a drill sergeant)
8. Frankly its the only world war 2 movie where it shows cowardice by the allies in a way that doesnt result in the characters overcomming their cowardice, no instead the cowardly often (spoiler alert) die with no chance at redemption.
9. Its the only war movie i can think of where a man goes AWOL mid battle, is shot by his SGT, while wearing a flamethrower...and the flamethrower go BOOM...graphicly. That being said the flame throwers are hilarious bad and good at the same time, another one of these movies many contradictions.
All in all, the movie isnt great, but worth a watch if your willing to laugh at the acting/props a little. But if this movie wasnt included on my Hulu, ide never seek it out.... oh and some of the battle scenes don't really make sense from a tactical perspective but its 90's hollywood. Really any pre- band of brother/saving private ryan ww2 movie/show did a bad job at that so i wouldnt dwell on it.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
09/02/24
Full Review
lucas c
You can't justify the horrible acting, terrible quality, and hollow plot by demanding that it's a realistic movie war movie. The acting alone (or lack thereof) set the stage for an awkward and uncomfortable viewing experience. They missed it big time. After watching band of brothers, this seemed like a high school performance at best.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
11/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
One of the worst war movies ever created
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Kristina N
It's not about the script, the plot, the characters, the acting. It is a straightforward movie about war, the horror of battle, and survival. If you are looking for a story, go watch a Disney movie. If you are looking for heroes, go watch Hacksaw Ridge or Band of Brothers. This is simply a movie about a battle in a war from the soldiers' perspective, and it is a damn fine one at that.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/15/22
Full Review
randy b
Gritty movie, told from the grunt level. A smart, pragmatic soldier who just wants to survive but ends up being forced into leadership
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Tells you a lot about war being hell. No sugar coating war's horror in this movie. Great story telling. Gritty til the end.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
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