Captivating, but problems with volume

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2016)

The film shows a great interpretation of how the 54th Massachusetts Regiment fought in the Civil War, and also how they fought to remain in the Union despite the fact that they were almost entirely African-American. The story narrows in on a small group of soldiers and their captain in the regiment, and as they are tempered by their training, punishment, and combat, viewers will become quite fond of the group. Sadly, the regiment is crushed at the battle of Fort Wagner tragically. The focus on this group betters the film by investing the viewers and allowing for more character development, but from an educational perspective, does not present the mood of the progress of the entire regiment and the fight for wartime racial equality as a large group as much as I would have liked. Overall though, the movie is apparently quite accurate to history, with few minor details that are not emphasized (except a whipping scene, for whipping was outlawed in the Union due to its symbolic reference to slavery). I give it a 7 of 10 because the movie itself was an 8 in my opinion, but the dialogue was too quiet, and especially in the louder combat scenes, this was a hindrance enough to remove me from the film momentarily.