Disappointing!

Rating: 5/10 (8 October 1999)

For fans of Joseph Heller's brilliant satire on war, Mike Nichols' effort was disappointing. A lot of the most interesting (and funny) parts were left out (including the absolutely hilarious court-martial of Yossarian) and most of the characters were not allowed to develop to their full potential. Major Major Major Major was a let-down, as was the exclusion of Nurse Duckett. Colonel Cathcart's character (pardon the alliteration) had much more meat in the book, and where was that sequence of the Washington Irving letters? Alan Arkin managed to look believable as the only sane man in a crazy world, and kudos to him.
Probably it would have been a better idea to forget creative licenses and stick to the chronological order of events as in the book. Although one must grant that maybe it's not the easiest of books to film, just as it is not the easiest of books to follow, as its readers will vouch.