Product: George C. Scott: The Last Days of Patton (1986)
Rating: 3.0
The Magic of the Original is Lost
George C. Scott reprised what may be his most famous role as General George S. Patton. Unfortunately, this seems to have been a mistake. The sequel has little of the quality of the original movie and even less interest. As biography, it was fair. As entertainment, it was a bore.Scott still manages to maintain the image of the famous general. His bull headedness is present as is his conviction that he is the only savior of western civilization. So to does the impression that for Patton there is no calling more honorable than that of the soldier, even enemy soldiers. This comes out early in the movie while the general was assigned as the military governor of Bavaria. He dresses down some SS prisoners for thei slovenly ways and even they resond to his leadership style. There is a purpose to it, though, he wants them ready to fight under his command should the need to confront the Soviets arrise.Patton's nature puts him at loggerheads with his superiors and the press. Eventually, he is to be releived for cause but fate intervenes in the form of an auto accident. The general breaks his neck and is paralyzed THe second half of the movie deals with his reaction, that of his family and friends and also that of politicians and the press.There is very little excitment in this production. It relies heavily on dialog that could have been better. It also places some reliance on flashbacks which were inteded to demonstrate what kind of a man the general was. Some of these are effective; most are not. In general, it is a fairly boring movie.There is some truth to the argument that the movie has some merit just as a biography. It does a fairly credible job of pointing out the conflicts in play right after the second world war. It aslo depicts the events concerned mostly as they happened. It is still boring.The quality of the DVD also leaves much to be desired. Some of this is because this was a made for TV movie but much of the blame can be laid on the transfer itself. It has a tendency to skips and miss frames. Based on other reviews, I was not the only one to have this problem.If your are a fan of historical biography, this movie may appeal to you. If you want to capture the excitement of the first one, though, you will be disappointed.