Structurally a mess, lacking in clear theme or characterization

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 1999)

I guess it was to be expected of Terrence Malick, the man who brought us the visual-style-over-narrative-substance "Days of Heaven," that "The Thin Red Line" would be somewhat lacking in the plot department. However, I feel - unlike some critics that cried "poetic brilliance" - that Malick's long-awaited film is a sprawling mess. The photography, as demonstrated years before, is brilliant. Yet that cannot sustain the complete structural mess at the film's core. Characters appear suddenly and disappear, plot lines do the same, and whatever narrative development - in terms of characters, theme and otherwise - is rather crudely attempted through voice-over narration. There are absolutely no plot points to speak of, and the action is never advanced (except maybe for the soldiers landing on the beach and capturing a military stronghold early on). When the characters fail to convey multiple dimensionality (beyond typage), Malick's camera cuts to a National Geographic-esque close up of various specimens of wildlife. Real pretty Terrence, but what does it have to do with anything? And don't give me the Garden of Eden allegory - because this film fails miserably to sustain any clear message, or convey it to the audience. Give me "Days of Heaven" anytime, but when you're dealing with a character roster of dozens, and the broad topic of the Battle of Guadalcanal, Malick's obviously unqualified. He should do lunch with Robert Altman sometime.