Intense and Meaningful,

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2017)

Enemy at the Gates is a great movie with a very well developed plot and an outstanding cast. It's a very intense war film that has some gritty, truly engrossing moments, however, what this movie does that most do not is that it never forgets about its characters or their relationships. There are never any long battle sequences that drag on to a degree that they have forgotten about the characters and are simply giving us effective visuals, it always remains grounded.
It did drag on at certain points, there was certainly some hefty, dialogue based moments that went on far longer than they should have. There was a lot of spoon feeding going on at times when they should have just let the plot move forward and leave us to find out for ourselves.
The cast is phenomenal, Jude Law shines in the lead role, keeping our attention and care for his character throughout, as he delivers his performance with a lot of depth, his relationship with Rachel Weisz in the film is also a very sweet and effective one. Ed Harris is also stellar as the lead antagonist, portraying the character with a lot of rage, but also manages to display some humanity to him.
It is a rare war movie that never manages to forget its characters. Engaging and very intense, Enemy at the Gates is certainly worth the watch for anyone looking for a good war film or drama.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, a Russian sniper must fight for his survival in the final days of the war.
Best Performance: Jude Law