Somber, powerful, gut-wrenching.

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2013)

When this movie was first shown on TV, I got glimpses of the disturbing war scenes of the violence and the dead, and it upset me a little. I finally saw this film in its entirety in a high school history class, and I remembered it to be very powerful, dark and depressing - upsetting feelings of despair and dismal only war could bring.
It's a pretty suspenseful and intriguing story about Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) commanding the US Civil War's first black volunteer company to battle the Union army and the Confederates. Broderick, known for his more comedic roles, had me taken-aback with his serious and daunting performance, especially the part where he kept yelling at Denzel Washington's character while shooting his gun in the air. I don't remember much of anything else in this film, except that there are a lot of gun battles and bloodshed, things you would except in a war movie.
I'd say it is on par with Saving Private Ryan as far as suspense, disturbance and emotional materials are concerned.
Grade B-