George C. Scott gives his best performance

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2006)

Coming into this film, i had heard how great George C. Scott was supposed to be and i had built up all kinds of expectations. I'm happy to say that the performance matched my expectations, and even exceeded them.
This is a pure character study... the plot has very little suspense, we all know how world war 2 turned out and Patton's role in the war is also pretty well known. What keeps you watching is the desire to see the characters complexities revealed as the predictable chain of events unfolds.
What makes the film so great is that Patton was such a complex and eccentric character and the film pulls no punches in it's depiction. The script shows Patton, warts and all... The good, the bad and the ugly. During the course of the film I went from hating him, to liking him again about every 10 minutes.
The actual battle sequences are fairly uninspired but throughout the film they do a good job of giving you the feeling that a huge battle is taking place just over the hill and there is a great sense of being surrounded by war. The soundtrack is excellent and the direction almost reminds me of a John ford film in the way it relies on exterior Locations to provide atmosphere. A large portion of the film takes place outdoors and the locations chosen are excellent and perfectly photographed. There are moments when you almost feel like you're there, particularly the quieter moments right before the start of a battle.
I would probably rank this among my top 3 WW2 films now and i can't think of anybody i know who wouldn't enjoy it. From the opening scene to the last, it's a great experience.