Despised this film

Rating: 2/10 (10 May 2015)

I was hesitant to see this film based on the subject matter but I went to see it because it was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. My worst fears were more than realized. It was more then two hours long but felt like five because of scene after repetitive scene of Bradley Cooper shooting people from rooftops. The characters felt more like caricatures than real people and none of them were very likable. It was also very predictable - very much like the screen writing efforts of James Cameron there is absolutely no subtlety here.
I think this was ultimately supposed to be a film with an anti war statement but it could have been accomplished much more economically and more interestingly than it was. One of the things I look for in a really well made movie is the feeling that every scene is integral to the plot - this film failed that test. Close to an hour could have been edited out without any real loss of understanding on the part of the audience.
I can understand why this was nominated for technical awards - the sound editing was very well done - but really shocked that it made the list for best picture. Think that says something about the quality of the films released in 2014.