Like watching Grass Grow (and wave in the wind)

Rating: 2/10 (13 July 2012)

I'm serious, so much of this film shows shots of grass waving in the wind, it just doesn't work.
The story has no pace, and comes across as extremely pretentious.
We get the meaning of the waving grass by the first couple of seconds, yes, here is a tropical paradise, being fought over by vicious, violent human beings. Still, we get more and more waving grass. There isn't even any tension or apprehension that there could be a hiding Japanese sniper, just more waving grass.
The Thin Red Line is like a fading shadow of the brilliant Chinese movie City of Life and Death.
This film also uses the technique of showing the beauty of nature transposed with violence and death, but in this case it works. Unlike The Thin Red Line, it doesn't have one side being the heroes and crack shots who can fire from the hip whilst running in the jungle and never miss.
The disturbing picture of inhumanity portrayed by the movie City of Life and Death was probably what The Thin Red Line wanted to aspire to, but instead, turned into watching grass grow.