Not so bad

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2005)

First of all, read the book, The War of the Rats if you want to know what really happened during the battle of Statlingrad. Obviously, this film is not the most historically accurate, thought it does have some outstanding tactical examples of small unit fighting.
I could have done without the love story. What made this film good was the duel between Ed Harris and Jude Law. Rachael Weisz had a pointless role and I certainly would rather have seen more historical evidence in place of the love affair.
I think the filmmakers would have done better to make the viewer understand how awful a battle this truly was. If there was a turning point on the Eastern Front in WWII, it had to be the Battle of Stalingrad. It had nothing to do with the exploits of one soldier and his girlfriend. In place of some of the overly-dramatic scenes between Russian soldier and commissar, how about showing the audience more background on things such as the German Wehrmahct's tactical supremacy over the Red Army, or the Soviet leadership's inability to lead.
Still, this was more entertaining than it was good, and I found my viewing to be enjoyable.