Will either move you, or you'll want to kill yourself

Rating: 2/10 (28 June 2001)

For me, it was the latter. I didn't go into the film expecting Saving Private Ryan 2, although I was interested in what was going on in the South Pacific - My dad had been stationed in New Guinea and spent the war fighting there. He would never talk about it, though I know the horror got to him. He'd wake so quickly if someone touched him, and was ready to pack me off for Canada at a moment's notice during Vietnam.
I love thoughts and feelings about war - Dispatches by Michael Herr, about the feelings and craziness of Vietnam, is a favorite book.
Thin Red Line wasn't in the least bit believable to me, and it moved at the pace of a snail. And I don't mind snail pacing - 2001 for example. The dialog was contrived, pretentious and stilted - it was just poetry for poetry's sake - a whole lot of verbal masturbation.
It would have made an interesting 5-minute avant garde piece for some PBS show. Congratulations to all the people who got to the end and loved it. You deserve the medal of honor.