More like a video game than a movie

Rating: 3/10 (16 April 2018)

A product of the video game culture I think. If you want non-stop action, its here. However this movie is masquerading as a wwII flick. Much of the movie is from inside or just outside a Sherman tank. This makes about 1/5th of the movie claustrophobic, not unlike a submarine movie. Its this intimacy of a close knit group of men that is the strongest suit of the movie.
The movie seems to try to explain how innocent young men become ruthless killers. With a couple of the American characters portrayed as complete animals. Perhaps more ruthless than the SS themselves. The film is shown more through a young American recruit who only has office training. He gets thrown into a tank and loses his virginity on the battle field and literally later on. His innocence is played off the animalistic crew members who resent him for not yet seeing the cruelty of war. They try to destroy his innocence. This happens in everyday life as well, but is more obvious in this movie.
I just can never get over how the tank captain doesn't button up the tank in such obvious situations. Such as numerous sniper opportunities in towns, traveling on roads right next to heavy woods.....etc. Obviously it is to create scenarios that the script requires.
The violence in the movie is realistic and maybe over the top for shock value. The utter disregard for caution by the lead tank and the German SS battalion at the end is beyond belief. This movie just uses the wwII setting to set up impossible situations to create the main hero.
The one tender scene in the middle of the movie is just there to contrast against the brutal animals in the tank crew.