I actually sit on the fence with this one.

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2003)

Well, sorry to disappoint the reviewers on this site but i neither hated or loved this film.
I'll start with the good points. I thought the main characters were extremely well cast. I believed right away that these men were in an extraordinary situation and were trying to deal with it as best as they could. The dialogue although sometimes slightly drawn out was poignant and moving. Some of the cinematics reminded me of Apocalypse now but were unique all to themselves. The beautiful landscapes marred by the incessant barrage of munitions provided a stark contrast to the placid life of the natives disrupted by the harrowing nature of war.
Unfortunately i am unable to say i loved the film. I felt quite early on that the film suffered because of its self appreciation. A beautiful panning shot of water lapping against reeds on a shore would have had the desired effect had it been just 20 seconds long, not a full four minutes. This use of contrived cinematics marred the final effect just because it was used too much. I also felt the Cameos by John Travolta and George Clooney were stunts just to get the punters in the cinema. After all, they were credited in all the trailers but had only a few minutes of screen time between them. I am a fan of war movies because they normally portray the harrowing nature of the deepest emotions a human can endure. TTRL could have explored this point more fully but ultimately lacked the emotional response attributed to such conflicts.
Some beautiful cinematics but drawn out a little too much. Some great dialogue and casting (Woody was spectacular) but ultimately a mediocre approach to what could have been cinematic history.
6 / 10