Overlooked, but really long.

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2012)

Terrence Malick doesn't do movies that much, so when he does we need to embrace them. The academy didn't really embrace them back in the 70's, but when he returned from a twenty year break in 1998 for The Thin Red Line, they gave him two Oscar nominations.
The Thin Red Line is a personal film, a deep and rich character structure, which is truly what he does and always will do best. The film is mainly focused on certain soldiers, in the war. That's about it. It's three hours long, which is way longer than it needs to be. But for some reason, any director who does a war movie feels entitled to three hours.
What I like about Malick's war tale is that it's not just three hours of shooting. It's three hours of men who just want to go home. The cast is terrific. The cast includes, wait for it, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jim Caveizel, George Clooney, Adrien Brody, John Cusack, and many others. Nolte is terrific here, giving some of his best works.
It's ashame that not many people remember this film. There's one main reason why: It's badly timed. The film was nominated for Best Picture, but do you know what else was? Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan, the best war film known to man.
The Thin Red Line is a sprawling war epic with terrific cinematography, another Malick strength. It's a really good movie, but falls short of greatness due to it's length and because it doesn't really have a whole lot on it's mind. But you should still see it before you die. But it is a commitment.
A-