Some of you obviously don't "get it"...

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 1999)

I'd like to offer my humble rebuttal on some of the biggest critical complaints that I've read about The Thin Red Line.
1) "The movie contained no plot" - And I ask you, must a film contain a plot to be entertaining and thought-provoking? Most moviegoers have been trained by the Hollywood system to accept the three-act structure as gospel. Fortunately, there are a handful of filmmakers such as Malick who are talented enough to side-step this "rule" and rely on other, equally effective devices to power their films.
2) "The characters seemed to blend together" - I never had a problem with recognizing every soldier as an individual. At times, putting the names to the faces was a challenge, but not a nuisance. It's important to keep in mind that often times we the viewer are meant to be a soldier on that tour of duty. Watch how the men look at us on the ship heading home at the end of the film. They are not looking into a camera lens. They are looking at a fellow soldier who's just had a shared experience.
3) "The film was better than/worse than Saving Private Ryan" - I don't understand why The Thin Red Line is constantly getting compared to Saving Private Ryan. I mean, you might as well compare it to every other war film out there, or perhaps just every other film in general. I guess because SPR is still fresh in everyone's memory (and a darling of the critics) that it is held up against TTRL. They are two completely different experiences (thank God for that).
4) "The Thin Red Line is a weak war film" - Well, which "war" are you talking about? If you're talking about man's struggle to define himself within nature and the role he plays on this planet, then you'd be on the right track to the essence of this film. Granted, it doesn't take much talent and vision to show people being killed by grenades and bullets, but it does take a lot of insight to accurately portray the real war going on WITHIN the soldiers. And Malick successfully does just that.
5) "When the Japanese spoke, there were no subtitles" - Again, WE are on that tour of duty. How many of those American soldiers could actually understand and speak Japanese? Do you "get it" now?
6) "John Travolta and George Clooney hardly get any screen time" - Yeah, and you have a problem with that?!
I could (should?) go on, but I won't. My quick review: **** (out of ****). It's not exclusively about the taking of Guadalcanal, but more about the battle within each soldier as they fight over the thin red line between life and death.