Completely Overdone

Rating: 6/10 (10 November 2008)

Where I won't deny that it is a overall well made movie, I can't give it the acclaim it seems to have gotten from anti-war people gushing over it's so called 'message'. To me, it was WAY too in your face about it's anti-war message, it's like it was shoved down your throat and most of the movie leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. The violence, however realistic, is gratuitous and for me personally, takes away from the message of the movie. The premise and execution is also to me nothing special, it's everyone's vision of an 'American War Tragedy', it brings nothing special or eloquent to the table for me either. I feel that Hollywood only seems to know how to communicate messages by going way over the top, it's like they don't seem to appreciate the value of subtly or think people can't comprehend the message unless you have a 20 minute scene of soldiers being blown to bits. You don't have to hit someone with a sledgehammer to get their attention, and if that's the audience you are going for then it doesn't speak well of the intellectual value of the movie in the first place. I feel like the masses that will go on and on about how great this movie is are the people who only frequent the usual blockbusters and don't have especially high expectations in the first place. To me, it lacked a lot of valuable things that would have made it a truly GREAT story, but I will say it will most likely not disappoint your average viewer.