faded_Glory

OK, let's stop beating around the bush. This is just a dog. The worst is undoubtedly the dialogue - unspeakable lines full of kitsch and pomposity in a style that Hollywood thankfully left behind somewhere in the 1940's. The other thing that sinks the movie is the pacing that is totally off. Every time the momentum picks up a little and we finally get into it a bit, we are suddenly thrown back into yet another agonizing scene between Alexander and his mother, or his father, that stops the film dead in its tracks because of the ridiculous dialogue and over-the-top acting.

Not to mention the weird accents, Colin Farrell who is wholly miscast because he doesn't have the charisma of a world-class leader (nor the voice - in his pre-battle pep talk speeches he squeaks like a mouse on speed), the wishy-washy approach to his bisexuality (if you want to make the point, then just make it, for Pete's sake), the flat characters of his friends and generals that one cannot tell apart, Val Kilmer chewing up the scenery, and the rather poor aerial shots of the big battle. A waste of time.

Lots of people applaud this series for its realism, but I can't really agree. I think there is still too way much Hollywood here and a lot of the scenes are cliché. The Germans are almost without exception behaving as total amateurs. For example, in the Crossroads episode they let themselves be completely surprised by the American attack in the rear, and in response they go running round in the open like a bunch of headless chickens to be shot down in droves. Yet we are told that these are SS soldiers. The SS was a crack unit and I don't believe that they were such poor soldiers to let this happen to them. One of the first things you get taught in tactical school is to secure your perimeter and set guards in all directions.

The American side too made huge blunders, if we accept this to be a realistic depiction of what happened in reality. Take the attack on the village of Foy (another place where we constantly see crowds of Germans nervously running around in the open for no apparent reason). The Americans knew that the Germans had artillery and tanks there, yet they assault the village with less than one Company of infantry without any attempt to soften up the defenders first! What are they thinking? Where was the Air Force? Couldn't they bomb the village first? Where was the American artillery? Couldn't they lay a barrage on the village before the attack? Why not use smoke grenades to give themselves some cover when they crossed the open fields? And we are supposed to feel sorry for the guys that their attack got bogged down?

Also very unrealistic is the layout of the opposing sides in the Last Patrol episode. If you believe this, the lines were less than hundred meters apart, yet on both sides people were walking around right in the open, and exposing themselves at the windows etc. At night they show some huge spotlights on the German side - surely those would be immediate targets given that they only appear to be a couple of hundred meters away from the Americans and plainly visible? Ridiculous! The behaviour of the Americans during the shelling in the Bastogne wood is equally unrealistic. Why are they all walking around in the open and talking to each other if they were so close to the German lines and expecting to come under fire? They should have been sitting in their foxholes, observing the enemy, not walking around chatting as if they were taking a stroll in the park! And then when the first shells explode why are some of them running round like idiots, shouting to the others to take cover? Don't you think that these D-day veterans would know by now to take cover when the shells start flying? All this kind of stuff that is only designed to get us excited and rooting for the characters is typical Hollywood nonsense. Never mind the decent acting, the good costumes and props, the camera-work - if the overall behaviour of the characters is quite unbelievable the entire story falls flat on its face. I am still waiting for the first truly realistic depiction of front-line combat - but I don't think I will ever get to see it, because in reality it isn't very photogenic so it wouldn't sell.

This is quite simply the best anti-war movie since Catch 22. Wild, whacko, irreverent, chaotic, you are never sure what will happen next or where your loyalties lie. The innate utter stupidity of war is beautifully exposed, as are the often all too ordinary motivations of those who participate in it - lust for adventure, fame, promotion, wealth, but also sudden compassion, honesty and reflection. A roller coaster ride of action and thrills with sudden counterpoints of instant horror that make you think and ashamed of yourself for laughing out loud just a moment before. If this doesn't shake some holy beliefs in the truth of what we are told, and the justification for what we are doing, nothing will. Highly recommended!