Best war film ever made

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2017)

I have to say this is the best war film ever made, and in my top 10 list of all films. A big part of this is the movie has somewhat of a unique approach to the standard war film fare. In that the main character is a pacifist, who still wants to serve in his own way. And the main character's religious conviction is something you don't see in nearly every war movie, and even then it's usually an afterthought or just there to provide dialogue. I felt a huge emotional investment towards the main character. Going in, I didn't know it was based off a true story, so I didn't know the ending. I'd say this helps, but isn't necessary to enjoy the movie. You can't help but have tremendous respect for the main character. The emotional angle is why I feel it's the best war movie. I actually cared about these characters. More so than films like Saving Private Ryan (though I do tear up at the end) or Platoon.
The action scenes are well choreographed, and I could actually understand what was happening at various points of the battle, even despite the smoke. Many war movies, especially modern ones, make the action so muddled you can't understand what's going on. They want to show war as chaotic, and they succeed in this, but sometimes you can't tell who's winning or losing (or who's advancing or who's retreating). Another excellent war movie We Were Soldiers is a bit like this. Still an excellent film though. It's just the war scenes in that movie can't compare to this movie. Only drawback is a little lack of realism in that nobody ever reloads. Small quibble, but should be mentioned. Especially that grease gun, it looked impressive, but no way he had that much ammo on him.
The movie hit on all cylinders. The boot camp scenes aren't as good as Full Metal Jacket, but the rest of the movie makes up for it. And I appreciated the humor in the boot camp scenes. Even the love story was tender, and you really felt a bond to the lead female character as well, especially in the prison scene. Everything worked.
10/10