Major Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (1 September 2006)

This COULD have been a good film IF the director had been disciplined enough to decide on just what kind of film genre he wanted to make and then stuck to it.
Instead Spielberg goes from action/adventure to caper to political thriller to drama all the while throwing in some not so subtle propaganda.
No wonder the movie was almost three hours long! The film would have worked so much better if Spielberg had condensed some of the killings into one montage. Not JUST because the movie would have been shorter but because the montage would have emphasized, cinematically, the fact that the killings were starting to get out of control and become blurred...instead of just showing the same basic scene over and over again.
Spielberg needs to look at some of Francis Coppola's films to get a lesson in what a good montage scene can do for a film.
The other thing that really bothered me about the film is when a director manipulates the audience into thinking that he's somehow above the fray of politics and that the film being shown is somehow morally on a higher ground. It especially bothers me when the film in question, winds up being very politically pointed, though the director would be loathe to admit it.
And I'm not arguing whether I agreed or disagreed with the politics in the movie. What I'm saying is that there ARE political sides taken, though perhaps not the obvious ones demonstrated by the characters in the movie, but still, political views, by the director were espoused. So if that's the case, at least be straightforward about it instead of manipulating me and and further publicly stating that the movie was above "politics".
Case in point: The movie ends when two characters in an outside location in the NY Metropolitan area walk away from each other and the viewer is left with a shot of the skyline of NY City.
You guessed it...The twin towers of the World Trade Center are the most noticeable reference point in the shot. Hardly a coincidence in a three hour movie dealing with terrorism.
Obviously Spielberg was again, stating his political agenda loud and clear. Which is fine, but the movie, like its director, refuses to accept ownership of its own beliefs.
And on a more personal note, I thought one of the later scenes inter-cutting Bana having intercourse with his wife while yet another terrorist attack was being perpetrated was not moving...it was just gross.
Again, Mr. Spielberg should watch some of Mr. Coppola's films to see how "GOOD" montages are done.
I do want to say though, that Eric Bana is a strong leading man who has a lot of charisma. He should have a long career ahead of him.