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Bad, Boring, UninspiredRating: 1 of 10
 This was the film opening 2001's Berlin movie festival, where it was almost universally regarded as a bad film. Never really trusting movie reviews, I discovered, however, a general high ranking at the IMDb - thus two opposing ends demanded a resolution, I watched the film, not expecting something great, yet neither something bad. This has been a very ambitious project, lots of efforts went into it. In vain. Don't trust the positive reviews. From beginning to end, this movie is dull, boring, derivative and uninspired. The characters aren't introduced properly, their actions remain erratic, their motives unclear. Ed Harris' performance, though not excellent, is the only one standing out in a star-powered yet helpless cast. James Horner's music is a wrap-up of previous works of his, mostly Titanic, lacking almost every possible bit of originality. The movie lacks pace, most of all, and the entire situation seems rather unrealistic - where's the battle, where's the fight? The sets may seem impressive, the effects solid, yet not breathtaking, money surely went into this. But money isn't enough. This is not the way to kick-start a paralyzed and agonizing German and European movie industry. It lacks dimension, soul, intelligence, originality and something uniquely its own. Even that darn Star Wars phantom movie was better than this one. What a shame, and what a waste. It's not about just telling a story about aspects of the Stalingrad battle. It should be about doing it right, making a great film instead of just telling a story. This is nothing but a piece of uninspired Euro-Trash, unable to hold up to films like 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Braveheart'. I won't say not to watch it, on the contrary: It can be extremely funny, unintentionally, for it is truly, sadly, really bad.
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© Phil John Kneis. all rights reserved · philjohn.com - internet diary · poetry · serial photography
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