well crafted war picture

Rating: Null/10 (5 December 2001)

Take Saving Private Ryan and combine it with Shot Through The Heart and you'll get an idea of what to expect from Enemy at the Gates. A thrilling and suspenseful film set in Russia during World War II. The film opens with a young Russian soldier (played by Jude Law) arriving in the city of Stalingrad at the time of a Nazi attack. People are being shot, planes are dropping bombs, boats are blowing up and by the time it's all over and you've regained your senses, another action sequence comes along and the process repeats itself. The soldier is befriended by a writer (Joseph Fiennes) who finds out that he is an excellent sniper. Before you can say Russian propaganda the writer has turned Law into a hero and he becomes admired by all. In fact so many people like him that the Germans get worried and send in their top marksmen (Ed Harris) to stop him. This is where the elaborate action sequences stop and a deadly game of cat and mouse begins. Enemy at the Gates has everything that you could want in a good movie. Action, drama, romance (but not so much that it disrupts the killing) and plenty of nail biting moments. My only complaint is that director Jean-Jacques Annaud let the actors use their real accents instead of Russian or German. He said this was done to put acting over speech, but it can't help but seem weird when the lead characters all sound either English or American. But you probably won't even notice with all the bullets flying around. Enemy at the Gates is not a thought provoking film and it carries no real message about the horrors of war, however its a fun film packed with action and excitement. Chances are you'll love it.