A rollercoaster ride (emotionally and literally at times)

Rating: 9/10 (10 February 2020)

This movie is an intense journey of how the human drive to complete something you've set your heart and mind to can be accomplished, but not without it's loss and hardship. The film centers on a guy whose brother is part of a bigger division of 1600 men total who are walking into a trap on enemy lines. The "main" character is told he must deliver a message to save the men and call off the attack. He brings his friend Will, the actual main character along. You see the true experience and emotion of the whole film arguably through will even from the moment he enters the scene. He has been in past combat before and gives advice to the novice comrade but alas his cherry blossom mindset and rational gets him killed by trying to be compassionate in times of war. This movie pulls no punches in showing how real the world is and how war likely is and was then. Especially when characters give speeches about how orders are always changing and always coming. There will always be another fight and more dead. No matter what. Was it all pointless in the end? Maybe so. I love the poetic end of the film being like the beginning as well. The plethera of brithish actor cameos was a little distracting as well was the constant shot at times but at others it worked very well.