A fine addition to a recent trend

Rating: Null/10 (24 March 2001)

This is a really engaging film. It grips you from the start and doesn't let go - although sometimes the grip slackens. There were one or two quite shocking elements to it, such as (SPOILER) when the kid was hung by Konig, and when Tanya was hit by shrapnel.
The first part of the film takes quite a lot from the pages of Saving Private Ryan, i.e. blood guts etc. and very Janusz Kamisnki style of camerawork. Thus, Annaud ensures that it is a memorable scene, so vivid and realistic that it is quite scary.
Blistering performances eminate from the three main leads - Law, Weisz and Fiennes - and Ed Harris puts in an especially whole-hearted show, putting real character into the steely-eyed German sniper. Bob Hoskins was also very good, even if he was only in the film for a short spell. I have to say, however, that we could have done without the love triangle. It did slow the pace of things down a bit. And I think Ron Perlman's voice was dubbed.
Otherwise, this is a fully gripping tale, wrought with tension and realism. The story of these two snipers, coming from completely contrasting backgrounds, is so attractive and well-executed that gets you rooting for the good guy. It's about time someone took a good look at an often overlooked time during WWII.
As for the music, I think James Horner's score was fantastic. However, as some Horner fans may (or may not) have heard, the vast majority of the score is based on a theme was is an exact excerpt from his score from Apollo 13. That said, he uses and expands it very well.
All in all, great stuff. Watch it.