from "iQ-filmovi" at blogspot

Rating: 4/10 (16 January 2020)

I thought I was not in the habit of commenting on movies I didn't like, because it's nicer to talk about what we like instead. But since there is no major Oscar-nominated performance this year (except of course the "Joker", which should be discussed somewhere else), and undeserved praise comes for really bad examples of movies that should not be watched, I decided to look back at the following title, from the director Sam Mendes, whose other films left me indifferent.
Please note that the commentary will consist mainly of spoilers, because there is nothing else to comment on. The only praise for this movie is the truly impressive long shots, which could be considered a masterpiece, if only they were better integrated with rather poor CGI effects, and served a basic story, that is pure clichÃ©, and nothing more than that.
There is no comment on acting because there is no any reason for that. Benedict Cumberbatch and Collin Firth appear too briefly in the film to make any contribution to the plot, leaving only the wooden appearances of the other actors, in all either dull, or impossible situations. From the very beginning, the two main characters stand out from their surroundings, as they just exit from the beauty salon, unlike the other characters with faces and clothes dirty, as the soldiers should be. They are given an impossible task, which seem only they can accomplish. One dies in an attempt to rescue an enemy pilot without any logic. From that moment on, every step is predictable to the end. The rest of the hero arrives to meet even a female person who, apart from mere appearance, is of no relevance to the story. At crucial moments, he even leaves the weapon, so that by some miracle, avoiding all the bullets of the enemy, he will reach the target.
The most irritating of all l'art pour l'artistic shots, that are too many in this movie, is when the long run in front of the trench is shown at the end, when the unfortunate hero runs and collides with soldiers who, like a miracle, constantly emerge from the same trench, in order to get to the command and stop this futile attack (it would seem, as futile as this movie is). It would have been easier if he had remained to run in an empty trench, since the attack had already begun, when only these soldiers would not constantly sprout from nowhere. Or, to run behind, instead of in front of the trench, because there is no one there, but in that case we would not have such a long and beautifully shot frame, would we?
Unfortunately, this movie failed to be the anything else but the annoying attempt of an imitation of "Saving Private Ryan," portrayed in World War I. Why the title is exactly his year, and what does it have to do with the fictional event being described, remains a mystery.