A Totally Misunderstood film

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 2002)

As is standard for John Woo, this movie is filled with blood, guts, guns, action, explosions, death, dismemberment, ad nauseum ad nauseum ad nauseum. It certainly has moments reminiscent of "The A Team" on steroids. Still, the movie is not about code talkers or war, but about one man, a "good" soldier, dealing with the demons of his past and of his future. Nicholas Cage, ever the angst ridden character, does his usual, exceptional job, though often understated when one considers some of his many other rolls. Much like "The Thin Red Line", this movie is a different kind of war movie, though it relies often on action and war movie cliches to get it through the action moments. What makes it work is the emotional moments. Still, the story overuses flashbacks and Woo has yet to master the use of slo-mo to intensify a scene. Still, overall, this is a good movie, if misunderstood. Definitely not for the squeamish. On the Pywrit scale of 1-10, this scores a solid 7.5.