The Debacle of Glory

Rating: 1/10 (18 September 2014)

The Civil War movie "Glory" depicts the Colonel Robert Gould Shaw as he leads the first all- black regiment of soldiers. It is a deplorable attempt to romanticize war, causing only shame and disrespect to the men it attempts to honor.
The debacle of "Glory" begins with the casting, specifically Mathew Broderick's disgraceful portrayal of Colonel Shaw, whose monotonous and phlegmatic character is a burden to watch. But the show must go on.
The film barely stays afloat, being carried by the performances of Pvt. Trip (played by the glorious Denzel Washington) and Sgt. Rawlins (Morgan Freeman). The highlight of the movie is by far the scene before the final attack; Washington's character emotionally proclaims that his fellow soldiers are his only family. Now that's what I call acting! Tears aside, this is a clear example of director Edward Zwick trying to connect emotionally to the audience. The soldiers know they will be facing heavy casualties in the upcoming battle. Instead of creating a realistic scene showing the fear of the men as they face their own mortality, Zwick uses the opportunity to score some "heart points" to create a more relatable and soulful scene.
Furthermore, the mere fact that "Glory" is narrated through the perception of Shaw is yet another reason it is such a fiasco. This movie is supposed to portray the first all African American regiment; yet it is told through the point of view of the privileged and naïve white Colonel. Although this adds some interesting character development for Shaw, it distances the audience from what should be the focus of the movie. There are very interesting dynamics between the soldiers, such as how the educated Thomas interacts with the former slave Trip. It would have been insightful to further explore the racism and hate betwixt fellow black soldiers. The movie touches on this, but not in depth enough because the main focus is on Shaw.
As mentioned before, the fatal flaw of "Glory" is that it romanticizes war. Although it has a harsh and realistic depiction of some of the day-to-day aspects of being a soldier, and some gory battle scenes, in the end, war is portrayed as glorious and honorable. At the outset of the movie, Shaw is a bad Colonel, and the 54th is a mess of a regiment. Zwick expects us to believe that after some harsh training, the soldiers have bonded enough to become friends, who fight together for a noble cause. This is complete crap. This entire arc is ill thought out, and poorly executed. It is the trivial and unoriginal theme that people will struggle, but then come together and be stronger. Zwick is making much ado about nothing. This is misplaced; and with all the brutality and harshness in war, it would take much more for this group of men to come together.
Also, Zwick tries to show that you can achieve glory from battle. But there is no glory when it comes to death. During the last battle, Shaw yells, "For the 54th!!" before he runs up a hill to his death. We are expected to believe that his death is somehow courageous, and propels his men to be courageous also. This seems like mockery to me. And the constant choir music in the background is inglorious and shameful to the actual people who fought in this battle. The last scene of the movie shows Trip and Shaw, who previously quarreled, both dead, but lying on one another, as though they are friends, who died peacefully for an honorable cause. Yet another example of Hollywood trying to appeal to the masses. Come on, people; get over it!