Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Infantry landing on Guadalcanal deals with the insanity of the task before them. Based on an autobiographical novel by James Jones.
Biased, pithy comments: In the movies, World War II is a popular subject, and Terrence Malick eschewed many of the standard conventions. Instead, he gives us a (and I cringe to use the world, it's so poseur) lyrical, almost poetic, look at the reality of good and evil side by side in humanity. At times, too, it is a rock-'em-sock-'em war flick with plenty of heart-rending action. Instead of the stupidity of John Wayne's ``machine gun bullets pass through me'' WWII films, we see the sacrifice and horror of how hard it is to knock out emplaced guns, and the abject fear in the eyes of the men in uniform. And, we also get meditiations on war, death, humanity, and God. I loved it, but one can probably argue successfully that it ran about 30 minutes too long---the film seems to end several times, and then drifts on without much of a focus. Thus, really a great film but not quite for everyone.
Other Notes: When I saw this in the theater, it was in ``Climatevision;'' the air handler had broken down in the theater, and by the end of the showing it was about as hot and humid as a Pacific island inside. The buzz from this film, Terrence Malick's return from self-imposed Hollywood exile, almost overwhelmed this movie, but I feel it surpassed those expectations.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin, Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Nick Nolte, John C. Reilly.
Directed by: Terrence Malick