Dull, plodding effort

Rating: 5/10 (3 February 2005)

Dull though visually lush film. No surprises. You can write the script as the action unfolds. Here Inman is saved by a kind old mountain woman; here those homeland villains do very nasty things to the local populace; here Rene and Nicole heroically chop wood in the face of starvation; here damn Yankee soldiers try to rape a fine Southern woman.
The cast is top flight Hollywood, but none of them really fit into their respective roles. The film has an air of slumming stars playacting backwoods characters: they got them south'n accints down real gud, paw. Superstars should simply stay away from playing regional characters unless they go all the way, like Charlize Theron in Monster. You just can't look like Nicole Kidman and pretend you are suffering through a war.
Plot holes also grate. Near the end of the film, didn't the characters realize that the homeland nasties would be looking for them? Did they take any precautions - Naw, Paw. Not in movieland.