The Mother of all war movies

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2005)

The movie started too soon. I was still in awe of the King Kong trailer! MY GOD, it was GREAT! So anyway, the movie started while I was overwhelmed by the Kong trailer. I was already thinking "this sucks", before the first minute was up. But I thought to myself, "hey, this isn't fair! I need to give it more time." Welcome to the suck. What a roller coaster ride! What a welcome to reality - a reality most do not see. The movie most definitely sucks all your emotions from your soul at one point or another. Before this movie is over, you have sucked in as much as you can handle. Every breath you drew sucked in fresh air from stale history.
Check your political views at the door. There is no need for that extra baggage. You will be subjected to insight you more than likely never had before. You thought war was ugly? Hey! You win a prize, congratulations! The thing is, you don't know what ugly is unless you have been up close. When you see this movie, you will be sucked into all that is ugly. Despite its ugliness, this movie is beautifully done. Art covers a broad area and this movie covers it all.
After the first moments of the movie, it is easy to laugh because it is safe to laugh. After a certain point in the movie, when you know things are going to get serious, you are tempted to laugh(I am sure the movie makers tempt you, daring you to laugh) but you will probably hold it back because you can't see yourself being a part of the dirty jokes and wicked tricks on-screen. Subject yourself to the training and torture that these men have to endure and you may begin to see the humor. But in the meantime, thank God you do not have to go through this. Thank those who did this for you. Welcome to the suck.
If you go (or went) for big war battles, disappointment will be your friend. Lucky you! But there is no disappointment for the movie fan who gets a taste of reality from a padded seat while crunching on popcorn and slurping a tasty softdrink while taking in reality from afar. Yes, it is reality and it is well done by everyone. The creators and the actors all were great. It is my understanding that Jake Gyllenhaal broke a tooth when he jammed a gun into his mouth because he was so wrapped up in the moment. That moment in the movie was one of the best performances I ever saw. But even that moment is not so special compared to the performances everyone else gave. When you can remember these people are actors, you then realize, how great they were.
This movie DID NOT SUCK! It doesn't deserve a 10 because I personally cannot give war movies a 10, but I came close. I give it 8 out of 10 sausages.