Any given day of production on "Flags of our Fathers" might have gone something like this: Clint Eastwood - "Ok, now for this scene I want you fall into his arms and you're both going to look at each other and cry until you are dead. You're going to watch and cry also. Then you're going to go over there and cry some more. After that, well I guess you can cry while running up that hill. And don't forget to cry. Tears mean Oscars."
To say this film is ridiculously sappy is like saying pretzels are salty. To say that was witty is like saying waffels make great hats. 'Flags' looks and feels like a soap opera: Cliché melodramatic lines, irritatingly bland piano music, tedious voice over narration, etc. And I had the nerve to expect more out of Eastwood in a film paying tribute to the incomprehensibly heroic Marines who fought on the hellish island of Iwo Jima. I mean, we owe those guys our eternal gratitude and appreciation and this movie only made me feel sorry for myself. Halfway through the film my poor girlfriend was asleep and the audience wasn't laughing at a joke in the dialog. The only thing that kept me from caving in to boredom and leaving the theater was respect for the subject matter of the film.
It was not all sleep inducing though. The battle scenes are gruesome and spectacular. The beach battle is every bit as intense as the first ten minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" and a good deal longer as well. Clint Eastwood- "Take that, Spielberg!"
-THAR BE SPOILERES!-
A particularly awe inspiring scene is a shot of our Navy bombing the yakuza out of the Japanese island. I almost shed a tear myself in revelation of how much our military kicks @$$. However, when the battle scenes are over, they were just battle scenes.
(And how could that be considered a spoiler? Anyone with a pre-school education ought to know there were some boats with guns involved in this event.)
Eventually we get to the main plot element of the film. The historical photograph of the raising of the flag. 'Flags' tells the story of the political meaning of the photo, the symbolic message it instilled in Americans, and the controversy surrounding its conception; such as who was actually in the photo and whether or not the photo was staged. We follow the adventures of the 3 surviving marines who were in the pic as they tour America asking for support of the war. We get to see them getting drunk and crying, signing autographs, looking at the camera and remembering the battle, crying, and waving to crowds of cheering...crowds.
Meanwhile, the important and historically significant battle on the island is happening off camera. But that's not important because, look, this actor is crying. Eastwood- "You see that, Academy? He's crying. Give me an Oscar!"
Occasionally we get to go back to the battle and see the lead actors crying some more in order give them depth. Just as this gets our attention, it's back to America to show more flag waving and crying. And then some other actors cry. For no reason this time.
In closing: We should never forget the men and women of the armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the war. But flags should be forgotten well before Oscar time. (Derrrp!!! That was clever!)
I'm gonna go cry and film it and win some academy awards.
To say this film is ridiculously sappy is like saying pretzels are salty. To say that was witty is like saying waffels make great hats. 'Flags' looks and feels like a soap opera: Cliché melodramatic lines, irritatingly bland piano music, tedious voice over narration, etc. And I had the nerve to expect more out of Eastwood in a film paying tribute to the incomprehensibly heroic Marines who fought on the hellish island of Iwo Jima. I mean, we owe those guys our eternal gratitude and appreciation and this movie only made me feel sorry for myself. Halfway through the film my poor girlfriend was asleep and the audience wasn't laughing at a joke in the dialog. The only thing that kept me from caving in to boredom and leaving the theater was respect for the subject matter of the film.
It was not all sleep inducing though. The battle scenes are gruesome and spectacular. The beach battle is every bit as intense as the first ten minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" and a good deal longer as well. Clint Eastwood- "Take that, Spielberg!"
-THAR BE SPOILERES!-
A particularly awe inspiring scene is a shot of our Navy bombing the yakuza out of the Japanese island. I almost shed a tear myself in revelation of how much our military kicks @$$. However, when the battle scenes are over, they were just battle scenes.
(And how could that be considered a spoiler? Anyone with a pre-school education ought to know there were some boats with guns involved in this event.)
Eventually we get to the main plot element of the film. The historical photograph of the raising of the flag. 'Flags' tells the story of the political meaning of the photo, the symbolic message it instilled in Americans, and the controversy surrounding its conception; such as who was actually in the photo and whether or not the photo was staged. We follow the adventures of the 3 surviving marines who were in the pic as they tour America asking for support of the war. We get to see them getting drunk and crying, signing autographs, looking at the camera and remembering the battle, crying, and waving to crowds of cheering...crowds.
Meanwhile, the important and historically significant battle on the island is happening off camera. But that's not important because, look, this actor is crying. Eastwood- "You see that, Academy? He's crying. Give me an Oscar!"
Occasionally we get to go back to the battle and see the lead actors crying some more in order give them depth. Just as this gets our attention, it's back to America to show more flag waving and crying. And then some other actors cry. For no reason this time.
In closing: We should never forget the men and women of the armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the war. But flags should be forgotten well before Oscar time. (Derrrp!!! That was clever!)
I'm gonna go cry and film it and win some academy awards.