Brilliant but boring

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2004)

The acting, script, and cinematography is superb. However, it is the longest 2.5 hour movie I have yawned through in a long time. Saving Private Ryan sets the bar for a battle sequence and I was thoroughly unimpressed with the PG-rated opening battle scene at Petersburg. Other elements of the movie firmly plant this movie in the R-rated arena and they certainly could have made the battle scene more realistic. Maybe this set me off for the rest of the movie. I was just waiting to see how it ended. There are two scenes (one is the Siren' scene) that are not family-friendly and should be fast forwarded by anyone who trusts what is written in Matthew 6. Even the behind the scenes featurette was slow (Minghella, have some coffee!). If you like a wonderful story, great acting and brilliant cinematography, you'll like this movie. If you like fast paced entertainment you may not. 7 out of 10.