Emotional but way too long! 5/10

Rating: 5/10 (16 August 2015)

Review: I must admit, this film did feel like it wasn't going to end but the concept was OK and there are some interesting characters, like the couple of Turkish soldiers who helped Crowe to find his sons. I was expecting Crowe's amazing water skills to come into play but they really didn't have that much to do with the film. Its basically about a man who sets out to find his sons who are missing in action. After his wife takes her own life because she can't deal with the fact that her sons are missing, he makes a promise to bring them home, so he sets out on a epic adventure to try and find them, dead or alive. With the help of two Turkish soldiers, he soon finds two of his three sons bodies but he receives information from the soldiers that one of his sons might still be alive. This is were the journey begins and his life soon becomes in danger from various people who make his journey hard to accomplish. Its a extremely epic movie which has a emotional undertone and a great storyline. The main problem that I found with the film is that it was way too long. I liked the scenes with the Turkish soldiers, who tried there utmost to help Crowe but there is a lot of unnecessary material which made the film drag in parts. I was expecting more of an emotional ending, after such an epic journey but it seemed to end quite abruptly. The cinematography was impressive and the cute kid was a nice touch to the cast but Crowe could have brought some more emotion to the main character, especially as he and directed the film. Anyway, is an average movie which did have me gripped in parts and the emotional content was well put together. Watchable!
Round-Up: Although this movie didn't make a profit at the box office, Russell Crowe, 51, should be proud of his first directional debut. After winning an Oscar for Gladiator and being nominated for his roles in the Insider and A Beautiful Mind, he has had a career which has definitely had its ups and downs. From starring in epic movies like Les Miserables, with the awful singing, Robin Hood, we're he was confused about his accent, The Man With The Iron Fists, don't ask, American Gangster, great film and the Insider which was a brilliant performance, he really isn't the most consistent actor but he does know how to pull in an audience. To date, his movies have grossed $1.6 Billion which averages out to be over $54million a film. Pretty impressive! Anyway, the movie might have made some more money if he had some other stars alongside him. That's not to say that the rest of the cast didn't put in a good performance but it could have done with some experienced actors who would have brought some emotion into a film with such a intense concept. With that aside, I did stay interested throughout the movie and there was enough elements to keep me awake.
Budget: $22.5million Worldwide Gross: $15.5million
I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/war movies about a man's epic journey to find his sons who are missing in action during World War I. 5/10