Unpleasant but necessary

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2005)

War movies are very different. Usually, these differences depend on the film-makers' experience with war or knowledge of it. Occasionally, the time it was made and society's view towards it has its say in the matter too. This film was made by Oliver Stone, so naturally it's based on his experiences in the Vietnam war. Personally, I don't think there is a better war movie than All Quiet on the Western Front from 1979, simply because it's beautiful, concise and effective without simply showing lots of stuff blowing up or killing off characters we can relate to. Despite that, this film is still worth watching, simply due to how well-directed and intense it is. The plot is quite good, and follows a single platoon through a period in '67, during the Vietnam war. The pacing is good, though I felt that the film started somewhat slow only to later kick up to a very fast pace for a while. There didn't seem to be enough character development. I never picked up on all the names. Maybe there are too many major characters. That's something I often find in Stone's films, making them quite hard to sit through, and requiring more than one viewing to take it all in(which shouldn't be necessary... he's not Kubrick, after all). The acting is great. The casting is great, not one character seems miscast. The special effects are great. The characters are credible, interesting and well-written. The direction and editing is talented and effective. The film has a few memorable scenes, and the dialog contains a good bit of quotable lines. Not much else to say about the film... it's quite graphic and very direct, so you should only watch it if you're completely certain that you can take it. Oh, and John C. McGinley is excellent in the film. I recommend this to any fan of anyone involved in the making of the film, Oliver Stone in particular and fans of war movies. 8/10