I've seen much better

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2002)

The opening scene of "Enemy at the Gates" left me in utter shock! It shows Russian troops being brought in by train to the Stalingrad frontline and literally shoved into battle with a rifle and a handful of bullets (those who weren't issued a rifle were also sent in with instructions to pick one up from the dead comrade beside them once he's mowed down by German fire). And while I don't know if any of these details are historically accurate, it was stunning filmmaking indeed. Fear, confusion, hopelessness, death... it's all there in that one sequence. This is, I imagine, what war really looks and feels like. Unless your name is Rambo.
Unfortunately, after a promising start, this film, to use soccer terminology, starts scoring own-goals. It introduces a needless love story that eventually turns into a love triangle. Sure! It's bitter cold, Germans are inches away, hundreds of thousands rotting corpses laying around and what do these character engage in? Why, of course - a LOVE TRIANGLE. There's even time for a sex scene in which our lovebirds Vassili (Jude Law) and Tanja (Rachel Weisz) are doing the nasty surrounded by dozens of sleeping soldiers.
Since this is the European answer to American blockbusters, I guess one is to expect a good amount of schlock, but in doing so they managed to crap up what would have, could have and should have been a great movie.