Visually brilliant, but severely flawed

Rating: 6/10 (19 January 1999)

While this film is visually brilliant, it has some serious flaws in its story-telling. One of the major ones is its problem with characters. Aside from one or two exceptions, the men in this film are interchangeable, and appear and disappear without explanation. Some of the men look so much alike, and are not given names, so it's hard to tell who's who. Also, it's about a half-hour too long. I thought it was over when it still had a major scene to go. Don't go expecting another Saving Private Ryan. This film is more contemplative, but not as economically efficient.