Riveting but short of great

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2020)

From the opening scene until the final shot, this movie will keep you riveted to your seat and biting your nails. However, it is far from Gone With the Wind or The Wizard of Oz. Several pieces of the story that were unclear or unnecessary. The mother and child scene in the ruins doesn't add to the story line. If Schofield was shot by the sniper, how did he recover? If the Germans had amassed so much materiel in their new position in preparation for the trap and were able to bombard the 2nd infantry unit, why did they not continue the bombardment? The collapsing tunnel scene after the rat tripped the booby trap which followed behind the two soldiers, reminded me of the collapsing tunnel scenes in almost every Indiana Jones and 1950 California mining movie. While my wife thought that the movie reflected the WW I trench warfare well, I didn't feel the tension, smell the stench, or sense the futility as much as she did. The dead and rotting bodies scanned throughout the movie were all face down (with the exception of one soldier caught on the barbed wire) reflecting little cinematographic ingenuity, cruelty, or horror. The bodies in the river were mere stepping stones for Schofield as he climbed up the river bank rather than rotting corpses. In summary, a great story line conveyed by excellent acting but missing cinematographic gore and glory.