Stunning (minor spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (28 June 2003)

When I went to see this flick, I had heard all the rumours about the beginning of this movie. I consider myself to have a strong stomach for silver-screen violence, so I thought to myself "what could Spielberg, "mr. Fairy-tale", of all people, shove on my face". Well, 30 minutes of unrelenting full-blooded grindhouse gore was NOT anything I could have prepared myself for! I don't think there's anyone in the world who can take the beginning of SPR easily. I bet even guys like Paul "I said more blood, you faggots!" Verhoeven ended up thinkin 'this sh*t is heavy!' You'll be stunned, you'll FEEL the horror and you'll end up watching helplessly as Spielberg and his team introduce you to the face of war! This is NOT entertainment with a bunch of grown-up kids cowboying it on the "Krauts", this is sadistic, mindless and brutal, just like the real thing. After the start things slow down just a little bit as the plot unravels, but Spielberg manages easily in staying miles away from his fairy-tale-telling alter ego. And in the end... well, here we go again. If this was a regular action flick, you'd be waiting for the big finale. This time you are so much rooting for the soldiers you hope they would get away without having to fight anymore. BUT, Steven keeps it real to the end and in the grand fnale, bombards the viewer emotionally to the ground! Only two minor complaints: close-up on the american flag (yea, yea, heroes,"land of the free" etc.) and some light moments at the end ('the last speech of the dying hero' - cliche...) taste a bit fake in this otherly very heavy movie. I also am not so sure if portraying Germans again as back-stabbing S.O.B.:s is that good a choice. And I hate Sizemore in this, but this gets payed back by the surprisingly good performance of Ed Burns.
10- / 10