Great Entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2005)

I believe this did honour the dead. I understand war veterans were invited for special screenings and were moved by it. Most people who saw this were not personally affected by the tragedy so have little care for the dead unless it is rammed home to them. It's all very well for posters here to fake sympathy (this is programmed into us) but you can't be genuinely sympathetic if you didn't know them personally. Thousands of people die every day. I would also argue it isn't healthy to be too personally affected just because they were working to defend the beloved country. At least here the film brings it home to the viewer who wouldn't have cared otherwise, what actually happened. The gripping attack sequence was a major chunk of the film.
I personally like this style of movie directing. I consider it similar to Paul Verhoeven's work. It doesn't need intellectualising on any great level but is great to watch. There is no need to remind the viewer it is a movie as it is obvious.
If this was made into a more serious work, then the performances would have to change. I understand people's objections, and am surprised the average score is quite high given their obvious concerns but they should remember that this is a movie made for entertainment and not as a historical dramatisation.
I went to see this with a gf who was sceptical about watching it but nothing else really appealed. Although she was sure she'd hate it, she loved it and was very emotional during it.