Good to see...probably not to buy

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2010)

There are four movies getting big time attention for Best Picture; Avatar, this one, Inglorious Basterds, and District 9. The only ones worthy of this title are Avatar and this one.
I did like the film, its setting and the intensity that it brought. I guess what I didn't like is it felt like I was watching a documentary more than an actual movie. That could have been the goal of the director, but I didn't like it. That made parts of the movie drag, I know I did check my watch at least twice and wondered when it would be over. It seemed like your typical war movie storyline (those for some reason don't change much) and I didn't feel like, as the viewer, I got enough background on our characters to really care about what they were doing. We see a little of our main character's life very late in the movie and none of the other characters lives. It would have been nice to see flashbacks into all our characters' memories to see what their lives were like here in the States.
You can probably get away with not buying this movie. See it? Sure see it, but you might only like to watch it once or twice and then that will be enough...almost like a documentary.