Good but not great

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2012)

I will start by saying this movie is good but not great. It is worth watching but it will not become a classic like many other movies of the Civil War era, such as Gettysburg. What I was expecting was more comprehensive biography of Lincoln. What I got was one little slice of his life surrounded by many other characters. As many reviewers have said, this should be called a movie about the 13th amendment not about Lincoln. Almost all of it takes place in January of 1865 and involves Lincoln's fight to get the amendment passed. The movie gets very slow and tedious in the middle with all the wrangling.
Considering the subject it could have been shorter and ending with the passing of the amendment. The assassination seem to be a add-on which could have been left out. It is a movie you go to see for the scenery and the performances not for the story.
When I saw the trailer I had my doubts about Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln, but I have to say he pulls it off. He will almost certainly get a nomination for his acting. Probably the best character is Thaddeus Stevens played by Tommy Lee Jones. He pulls it off perfectly. If you look up the picture on Wikipedia of Stevens, Jones looks just like him. For a Spielberg movie I as disappointed in the special effects. Much of it was obviously green screen. The carriage rides though the city were so obvious green screen that it was distracting. The riverboat that was obvious built on a back lot and had no water under it was a big blooper. As a huge Civil War and Lincoln fan I am glad I went to see it but I would not rush out to see it again any time soon.