Captivating and Inspirational

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2015)

The movie Glory provides an enthralling perspective of the morals and beliefs encompassing the Civil War and more dominantly of the 54th regiment, the first African American troop, based upon letters of Colonel Shaw and novels "Lay This Laurel" by Lincoln Kirstein and "One Gallant Rush" by Peter Burchard. Despite the few historical inaccuracies, such as the rushed acceptance of the commanding position by Colonel Shaw (Matthew Broderick) and the discrepancy in which the first regiment dominantly consisted of freedmen, not runaway slaves, as inferred by the numerous of soldiers portrayed in the movie with this similar background, such as John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) and Trip (Denzel Washington), the movie was both captivating and inspirational.
Through the perspective of Colonel Shaw, viewers have the opportunity to understand the 54th regiment through the eyes of a white man. Although not biased against his inferior soldiers, the movie emphasizes his softening attitude towards them and his changing views as he sees his soldiers as equals and judges them for their character and heart despite the color of their skin and faults. The director does not attempt to hide the truth from his viewers or enforce an opinion upon them. He emphasizes the secondary treatment and views of white men on the regiment and does not disguise the profanity, but preserves the language of the time period portrayed.
The fighting scenes, although slightly gory and intense, are not the strongest aspects of the movie or meant to be the main focus of it. The movie relies heavily on character development specifically of the African American soldiers. The actors used, perfectly portrayed the characters they played and the chemistry between the soldiers is what makes the story line. Of the entire regiment, what stands out the most are Rawlins' as the silent leader, Thomas Searles' (Andre Braugher) scholarly, loyal personality, Jupiter Sharts' (Jihmi Kennedy) minor parts as the hot shot shooter and contagious enthusiasm, and the complex character of Trip. This connection and interaction between the characters, despite the aforementioned adversities, provides a different perspective of the Civil War, through the influence of African Americans on their white colonel, is truly what makes this movie a must-see.