Amazing!

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2002)

This was second favorite film of 2001 (behind Lord of the Rings and tied with Memento). How this got left out come awards time baffles me. This is incredible, intense filmmaking. Ridley Scott sets a pace and tone that is unmatched in the history of war movies. It's like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, but for 120 minutes. Violent yes, intense, definitely. It compels you to watch. Your senses are overloaded with sights and sounds, like you are in the middle of the battle yourself.
On first viewing, I had a minor quibble about the lack of distinction among the soldiers - the uniform and buzz cuts serve to make the actors hard to tell apart. After watching it again, I realized this isn't really a problem because we aren't suppose to identify with individuals in the beginning, we are supposed to only see "the army" Not until later, when the team is split apart do we see them as people with personalities and lives beyond shooting the enemy. Even then, keeping the well known actors fair unrecognizable helps to keep your focus on the events at hand instead of "Hey that's the guy from Pearl Harbor" or "There's the young Obi-Wan."
A comment on the film just isn't complete without mention of the sound, which won a well deserved Oscar. Perhaps more than the visuals, the use of surround sound puts you in the middle of the action even more. This is a movie to watch loud to get the effect the filmmakers were after.