I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, proving once and for all you shouldn't believe everything you hear (having "heard" that it was one of the biggest career mistakes Al Pacino ever made..)
I'm not really sure what made critics (and others) hate it so much. I thought Al Pacino gave a very good performance as Tom Dobb, the battle scenes were well done, the supporting cast were good, there were no glaring historical inaccuracies.. so what, I ask, was the big deal?
Regarding Al Pacino's accent.. (I believe this was one of the focal points of the critics derision) I must say that I didn't hear anything wrong with it personally. Sure, it kind of "fluctuates" during the course of the film, but considering the character he's playing (an inarticulate unlearned man "of few words") and the era in which the film is set (a time of great cultural turbulence) I'd say that a slightly mix-and-match accent is actually quite appropriate. Sometimes he sounds American/New York, sometimes regional English or Irish, but it never bothered me for a minute truth be told (and it's not like he had to deliver any long booming Shakespearean speeches anyway..) (Honestly, I thought the "Most Ridiculous Accent Award" should have gone to the guy playing the pompous English army captain who led the dog hunt. High-pitched, exceptionally nasal and outrageously camp. THAT guy was the one who prompted a snort of derision from THIS viewer.)
I'm not really sure what made critics (and others) hate it so much. I thought Al Pacino gave a very good performance as Tom Dobb, the battle scenes were well done, the supporting cast were good, there were no glaring historical inaccuracies.. so what, I ask, was the big deal?
Regarding Al Pacino's accent.. (I believe this was one of the focal points of the critics derision) I must say that I didn't hear anything wrong with it personally. Sure, it kind of "fluctuates" during the course of the film, but considering the character he's playing (an inarticulate unlearned man "of few words") and the era in which the film is set (a time of great cultural turbulence) I'd say that a slightly mix-and-match accent is actually quite appropriate. Sometimes he sounds American/New York, sometimes regional English or Irish, but it never bothered me for a minute truth be told (and it's not like he had to deliver any long booming Shakespearean speeches anyway..) (Honestly, I thought the "Most Ridiculous Accent Award" should have gone to the guy playing the pompous English army captain who led the dog hunt. High-pitched, exceptionally nasal and outrageously camp. THAT guy was the one who prompted a snort of derision from THIS viewer.)