Farrel & Schumacher, a wonderful combination!

Rating: 8/10 (29 July 2003)

Schumacher is, in my opinion, quite an inconsistent director. He has made terrible movies such as the two Batman movies, but when he pairs up with Colin Farrel magic is made! Both Tigerland, and the recently released Phone Booth are excellent movies despite modest budgets and a fairly unknown cast. Farrel carries Phone Booth entirely on his, in terms of dramatic talent, very broad shoulders, and even though he has much more of a supporting cast in Tigerland, he steals the picture and provides acting of such quality that more modest performances are hardly noticed.
Tigerland is quite an unusual Vietnam movie, provided that the story does in fact not take its course in Vietnam , but in the United States in preparation camps prior to posting in Vietnam. But Schumacher makes this work to his advantage (he usually makes his best movies,when he takes chances and tries something out of the ordinary) and,in blissful cooperation with Farrel, gives a very interesting look into the minds of young men pondering issues such as death and honor in the face of combat. This is a commendable movie, and Schumacher deserves a lot of credit for his few experimental movies such as this and Phone Booth. Watch it and enjoy Farrel's smartass attitude, or merely his sublime acting, and the skillful direction of Schumacher!