lowest common denominator

Rating: Null/10 (3 April 2001)

good cast... good story... so much potential here... nice, but disappointing...
the story of vassily the man could have been squeezed into two hours... the story of vassily the man and the woman he loves and the friend who loves her and the socialist epic battle against the evil nazi forces could easily have been a great miniseries... i would have loved to make it...
plus, the acting lacked so much context... everyone had all of these motivations and endpoints and great energy, but almost all of them forgot to be scared of being shot... if i were there, i would have been pi***ing my pants in seconds... i didnt like much of saving private ryan, but *that* they did right... people dont walk through war zones with goals and intents and hopes and dreams... war boils you down and deadens your senses... that would have made falling in love something spectacular and not hum-drum "saw it coming"...
the real problem with this movie is that it was originally intended to be art-house... i mean, who in mainstream america wants to see nazis fighting good-guy commies? but instead of continuing with that in mind, the producers and directors and script-writers dumbed it down... how many times were we reminded of communist ideals? just how many?
it should have kept with the story and the theme that turned ed harris into a human and not just a nazi (which was good, kudos)... the story of vassily the man was good... keep that and youve got my interest... add the rest, and it becomes a muddled mash of commies and nazis, killers and lovers, spies and backstabbers... too much