A visually extraordinary disappointment

Rating: 7/10 (10 August 1999)

Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" is a good film, peppered in numerous areas with wonderfully directed scenes, several complex and interesting characters, and a terrific ensemble cast. But several great qualities don't make a movie great, and the problem with "Thin Red Line" is that those positive attributes don't help the central movie. It's interesting to watch, and Malick's direction combined with John Toll's excellent photography work is at times astounding. But rather than heading for an interesting story, Malick's screenplay instead focuses on the "poetry" of war, for lack of a better word.
Malick uses horribly annoying voice-overs throughout the movie, as his characters make profound comments on the nature of evil and the like. One major problem with the voice-overs is that the camera is often focusing on one character while a different person is speaking his mind to the universe. During the first half of the movie, I was annoyed because I had no idea who was talking. During the second half, I didn't care.
The movie's two best performances come from Nick Nolte and Elias Koteas, and Sean Penn and Jim Caviezel also make interesting characters. But as the movie drags and lags, the audience loses all interest because, although the characters are complex, they have no connection with the plot.
The result is a movie that is brilliant to look at, boring to listen to, and long to watch in the theatre. After finishing this movie, I felt betrayed because I realized that I had just watched a good film that could have been a great one.