Well worth renting - - a war movie with a heart

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2005)

My wife and I enjoyed this studio adaptation of a superior recent novel and highly recommend it to film buffs. Not everyone rates it a "10" but it achieves a number of commendable priorities. It conveys the rage, gore, and horror of battlefield combat with its mass confusion (not being conveyed in the present-day coverage of the Iraqi Insurgent War and Afghanistan Taliban- al Qaeda battles); also, it highlights the ambiguity of "Support the Troops" when their place is so desperately needed back at the homes of their loved ones. I know that purists might object about the accents of the multi-national cast. It is, however, a treat to hear the talented actress Renee Zellweger have a go at the most rambunctious and endearing character of the entire film. The film's score and end credit music are quite excellent and demonstrate something of the character of that period of U.S. culture. The director and art-scenery department also have produced a landmark depiction, meant to update some of the cultural "imaging" done in the classic GONE_WITH_THE_WIND. It is a great 21st Century historical epic, well grounded by the novelist Charles Frazier, who also consulted in the making of the film itself.