Enemy at the Gates is a really powerful war movie, despite its flaws

Rating: Null/10 (18 March 2001)

This movie seemed to come out of nowhere. I first saw the trailer for it only a few weeks before it came out. It looked pretty good, and I love war movies (especially WWII movies), so I thought I might check it out.
The movie has learned a few things from its Spielburg cousin. Enemy shares the same gritty realism in the picture and in the events that happen.
I like the idea of this movie about a Soviet sniper. It's a nice change from the British and American movies. Though all of the Soviets have British accents, they pull it off very well.
Okay, let me get the bad stuff done and over with. The movie really has two plots. The first plot is what the trailer tells you: a German sniper is hunting a Soviet sniper during the battle of Stalingrad. The second plot is a love triangle: the Soviet sniper Vassily Zaitsev falls in love with a beautiful infantry woman, and so does his best friend, a Soviet propaganda/political officer Danilov. The first plot is the stronger plot. The second is pretty weak. The movie would have been better had it only been a war movie. The sappy love story gets a little stupid at times, especially when Danilov's jealousy brings himself to take extreme measures to Zaitsev. The movie is fine with the love story. It adds depth to the film, but the movie would have been better off without it.

Another bad thing would be the movie has a large amount of war movie clichÃ©s. There is not a whole lot of new material in the movie's events. The movie's ending seems to be a little too good to be true if you ask me.
The last bad thing is the movie doesn't take itself too serious. It should have.
Okay, how would you like some good stuff? The movie is deeply involving, filled with great characters and greater acting. They have some of the best in the business here: Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins, and (one of my favorites) Ed Harris.
The movie is also filled with tense, well-designed action sequences. The opening battle scene is so good and original that you felt for these communists.
The cinematography is very reminiscent of SPR. The film has that same dirty, musky look that Saving Private Ryan invented so long ago. That is not to say that it is bad or anything. The look of the film is great. The directing is also very topnotch.
The cat and mouse game between the snipers is complex and intense. Both men are professionals, and they don't take it personal. I love a line that Zaitsev says about snipers. He says that they have the hardest and most horrible job of any soldier because snipers can see the warm and friendly look in the face of his unsuspecting-enemy before he kills him. Unlike other soldiers, he must look his enemy directly in the face and he almost gets to know each man he kills. He says that the face of every man he has ever killed haunts his dreams.
Over all, this is a very cool movie. It may not be SPR material, but it will hold you over till Pearl Harbor hits shores. I can't help feel that the movie could have achieved much more had several things been cut out or added in. Despite its flaws, I think most people will enjoy this movie. Enemy at the Gates is a bit different from most war movies I've seen, but I think it is a welcomed change.
7/10