The Critic's Shame

Rating: 1/10 (31 January 1999)

The outstanding/good reviews given to this movie by almost every well-known critic, and the universal hatred of it by everyone else is ironic in a way. No critic is brave enough to admit that he/she did not like this movie. No, that would be like admitting you have no taste in movies, that you're prejudiced against art flicks - and we just can't let Stephen Spielberg be king forever.
Well let me tell you something. I like art flicks, PROSPERO'S BOOKS is one of my favorite movies, but THE THIN RED LINE is just bloody immature. True, there are a few miscellaneous redeeming features, cinematography and other things technical; however, not enough to cover up the embarrassing dime-store philosophic narrations, the in-your-face symbolism (duhh what does that dying bird symbolize duhhh), the overacting, the pointlessness of half the scenes, and the constant repetition of the war-is-hell cliche. We've heard it all before, but now Malick wants to bore us to death with it. Maybe that was his point and this movie is a poke in the face at modern attempts at war movies. Nah... no one's that smart.
I never dared dream that there could be a war movie worse than SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in the same year, but Terence Malick continues to shatter all Hollywood expectations. My hero.