Underwhelming

Rating: 5/10 (6 November 2006)

Patton was a romantic, a man who dreamt of glory, a man who put everything into pursuing his dreams of battle and prestige... so why does he seem so small? In an attempt to demystify the controversial general that has met both the scorn and respect of people and other military officials alike, "Patton" has become an underwhelming picture. George C. Scott's amazing acting is placed far from the camera, often framed next to taller and bigger people and things, making him look small, separate, even unappealing. The famous shot at the beginning of Patton in front of the gigantic American flag is at first really visceral, but thinking back on it, I realize it becomes a structural set-up for the mythic hero constantly set beside things that overshadow him. It's almost depressing.
Of course he was, after all, just a man... but this movie seems to go to such great lengths to stress that at times that sometimes I wonder why the creators even wanted to do the project at all. If it wasn't for Scott's grandiose portrayal, I would think that this movie would overshadow Patton so much that he'd disappear from the screen altogether.
What this movie does succeed with, in my opinion, is pointing out how different modern war is from "classic" wars in human history. WWII was the last war in which America had enemies that marched... in fact it was the last chance someone like Patton had to truly succeed in the way he did. Everything since has changed so much and the process differs so greatly that one of the reasons the US has had problems with wars ever sense is because we haven't yet recognized that we're not playing the same game as we were before. Everything's evolved and Patton in the movie is afraid of that, and it's for that reason that this movie still has something to offer.
--PolarisDiB