Seen it all before, BETTER.

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2003)

This was hyped to me as "Joel Schumacher goes Dogme". Yes, Hollywood schlockmeister Schumacher, responsible for crap like 'St Elmo's Fire' and 'The Lost Boys' and the man who made two absolutely awful Batman movies, attempts to recreate the likes of raw and powerful Danish dramas 'Festen' and 'The Idiots'. Now it sounded like a recipe for disaster to me but I was intrigued enough to give it a shot... My immediate reaction is that the Dogme angle is extremely misleading. The movie uses similar hand held camera work and lack of "blockbuster" touches but it in no way captures the intensity and honesty of Vinterberg or Von Trier. This IS Joel Schumacher after all. I suppose it shows you that it is talent and not technique that really matters. I had two main problems with 'Tigerland'. One is Colin Farrell who I have absolutely no interest in. Apparently he's supposed to be something special, but I really don't see it. As an actor and as a character I just couldn't into what he was doing. The movie is a love letter to Bozz and if you feel nothing towards him then there's really very little left. The other problem is that we've seen it all before, BETTER. I'm trying not to use these three words but I can't help myself - Full Metal Jacket. There, I did it. 'Tigerland' is pretty forgettable. I'm nearly sure that in a couple of years I won't remember one thing about it yet I can remember scenes from 'Full Metal Jacket' like it was yesterday, only I haven't watched it since about 1989. And that about says it all.