Beautiful and Unique Poetic War Movie

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2007)

"The Thin Red Line", written and directed by Terrence Malick is a World War II film about the U.S. invasion of the Japanese-held island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.
Malick brings us this story about how battle affects all the soldiers involved, or, as the tagline suggests "Every man fights his own war".
The acting is amazing. Sean Penn has an Oscar-worthy performance and is by far the most successful in the cast. He is the one who "opens" and "closes" the film. People will surely remember Penn's complete assumption of the character. His Sgt. Welsh is very carefully crafted. Nick Nolte, as Lt. Colonel Gordon Tall, hands in another outstanding performance. Several actors distinguish themselves in supporting roles. John Cusack is so good that he seems underused. Woody Harrelson portrays a mean but heroic Sgt. Keck in his brief role. John C. Reilly turned in a strong performance as well.
"The Thin Red Line" is nearly three solid hours of a beautifully complex and poetic motion picture. It's very realistic, unlike Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", for example. Best war movie ever. 9/10