too long, too slow

Rating: 3/10 (5 September 2006)

After Disney's ridiculous "Pocahontas", it seemed like any movie about that story would be an improvement. Too bad that the improvement was barely one notch better. "The New World" could have been at least half an hour shorter. Much of it consists of meaningless dialogue, and spends most of the time plodding. It's apparent historical accuracy can't save it, as it comes out boring. There have been much better movies about contact between Europeans and Indians (namely "The Mission"), so there's no reason to waste your time on this.
I hate to have to say this, but from the two Terrence Malick movies that I've seen - this one and "The Thin Red Line" - he's not showing himself to be one of the world's greatest directors. Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, Wes Studi and David Thewlis are probably pretty embarrassed about this.
By the way, have you ever noticed how it sounds if you remove the "n" from Pocahontas?