The Fat Pompous Movie ...

Rating: 1/10 (23 January 1999)

Basically "The Thin Red Line" is Wim Wenders' movie "Wings of Desire" except we've got soldiers instead of angels (although Caviezel certainly qualifies as a Christ-figure), and cheesy philosophical vomica instead of Rilke's lyrical poetry. Yes, the movie has many "pretty" scenes, and perhaps it does indeed deserve to be nominated for best cinematography. But despite what might have been good intentions, Mallick deserves to be raked over hot coals for what he is forcing upon audiences. What seemed like hours into the overly long movie, I found myself wondering if the projectionist wasn't channel surfing between the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, while playing an oration of William Shatner's (I'm being serious). Juxtapositioning images of soldiers in the midst of battle and delicate ferns or dying baby birds, Mallick reminds me of an amateur film student, recklessly relying on obvious stereotypical "impact" shots and edits. If not for the decent performances of Nolte, Caviezel, Ben Chaplin and Koteas, I don't think I would have been able to sit through the entire movie. I wonder if people who loved this movie actually paid attention to the stultifying voice-overs, or whether it's just the impression that the movie is "deep" and "philosophical" and "different" that appeals to them. I'm sorry, but interesting camera shots and technique are never enough to make a movie great, or even worth watching in this case.