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Mohawk [ 6.5 ]
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Well acted...but one gets a feeling this movie has so many stars that its so full of itself...whats the point of putting Clooney's or Travolta's name on the credit when their appearance in the movie lasts as long as it took to write down their names... Sean Penn is as good as always...but I really expected something better... although a very distant comparision Platoon is far better...
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JD [ 6.5 ]
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A long war movie that feels too choppy and doesn't deliver the emotional impact it is supposed to. Much of the movie is spent on character development and interaction with one another, and then it jumps into well filmed battle scenes only to end abruptly and go in totally different direction. I too, wished it was over sooner. It felt like a newer version of The Deer Hunter which isn't one of my favorite war movies.
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crreig [ 9.5 ]
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Yes, the film has many problems and, yes, three hours is a long time. I fail to understand, however, how The Thin Red Line can be considered second-rate Spielberg. Saving Private Ryan has none of the complexity TTRL has. SPR is a straight forward, predictable war movie while TTRL has little, if anything, to do with war and everything to do with dream and death.
Terrence Malick is a brilliant director and while his juxtapositions of industry or war with nature are written off as heavy-handed sermons by many, I find them pertinent and compelling. The Thin Red Line succeeds precisely because it is heavy-handed. It repeatedly, and without shame, indelicately illustrates obvious truths, painting them profound, only to undermine the points a few minutes later. The movie does not have an opinion or agenda. It is only a question. That is to say, it repeatedly contradicts itself. One may view TTRL as a condemnation of human nature, but, in ,many ways, it is precisely the opposite.
Malick does not make easy movies. He expects the audience to think for themselves. My only complaint: the cinematography is so stunning I have a hard time not sinking into the screen. This is a good thing, but at times I am so enamored of the images, I lose track of the narrator.
The Thin Red LIne is a flawed triumph and, as far as I know, that's what comprises strong art. Saving Private Ryan, on the other hand, can be turned off after the first twenty minutes when Spielberg has shot his pyrotechnics wad and dough faced Tom Hanks is readying another sappy performance directed at the LCD. Thank God Spielberg moved on to his recent triumphs like Minority Report and A.I.
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KIL [ 4.0 ]
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I would have given a better rating if this movie would have ended when I wanted and expected it to. Unfortunately, I thought and hoped the movie was over about 3 times before it actually ended, and by that time, my rating had gone south. . . . www.outcrybookreview.com/meat.htm
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chapter11 [ 10.0 ]
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The "Thin Red Line" vs. "Saving Private Ryan" argument is likely to rage among film buffs just as long as the "Godfather" vs. "Godfather Part 2" argument has to this day, but the question is not of which film is stronger. What needs to be examined is if each film stands on its own, and it does. They're two remarkably different movies--- the only thing they really have in common besides being set in World War II is their release dates in close proximity to each other. Were they released years apart, they'd be compared no more than we compare "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket" today. I personally liked "The Thin Red Line" more, but that's completely immaterial. All that that says is that I gave "The Thin Red Line" a higher rating. I feel that I must defend "The Thin Red Line," not because I think it's SOOOO much better than "Saving Private Ryan" (and I don't--- I think they're both fine films) but because I feel its not getting the credit it deserves. Terrence Malick's long-awaited return to film is a BEAUTIFUL motion picture, and scarce is the war movie that can actually be described as beautiful if you're not some sort of twisted sadist. The film's main flaw is that, as I believe someone else has mentioned, the beauty of the cinematography attracts attention away from the narrative, but even this isn't really a flaw--- it bluntly contrasts the ugliness of man with the beauty of nature, and while this type of philosophy, especially expressed through poetic imagery, may be overbearing to those who believe they're getting a run-of-the-mill war picture, to those of us who KNOW what we're in for, it's a gorgeous, profound moviegoing experience. And one last addendum to the "Thin Red Line" vs. "Private Ryan" debate--- instead of pitting the two against each other, why not use them in conjunction? While Malick's film is a brilliant treatise on the beauty of nature, "Private Ryan" proves more able on showing the savagery of war and man, and when watched in close proximity to one another, they do prove interesting and profoundly thought-provoking counterpoints to one another.
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brandon [ 7.0 ]
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the film attempts to give us a very in depth character point of view during wwii .. unfortunately, i really couldn't empathize with any of the characters, which tended to make their soul searching narratives drag a bit ..
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grean [ 8.0 ]
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a film that didn't live up to what many may have expected/wanted it to be, but I found it to be a refreshing change of pace in presentation and theme. disappointing how the director loses it at about two thirds of the way through though.. J.Travolta and G.Clooney were annoying.
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babyduck [ 6.0 ]
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Despite all the critical hype this movie has gotten and the number of stars that headline this film, all I could think of throughout the film is "When is this going to end? I'm hungry!" This was no "Saving Private Ryan" which was heart wrenching and fully of savage human emotion with a halfway intersting story. While this film had interesting characters, the movie just moved too slowly. Skip it if you don't want to fidget in the theater.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.3 |
| No. Ratings | : 23 | |
| No. Reviews | : 10 | |
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