After trashing Ryan Phillippe for Breach, I have to say he was pretty good in this. Granted, he was not called upon to do much more than a lot of falling down and looking tired and war-weary. But he was very convincing at that.
This whole thing is pretty Spielberg-ian. It's unashamedly hoaky and you can count on every soldier that you really like getting blown to smithereens. Along with Ryan, there's Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach as the three surviving soldiers who raised the flag in the famous photo. Paul Walker, whose face you'll recognize if you don't know the name, had a really small part. I always wonder if their good scenes got cut out when I see popular actors in these little almost-nothing roles.
And Jamie Bell, the original Billy Elliott, is in as Ryan's best friend. He's a really good actor, (I hate to remark on something so shallow but he does a very convincing American accent) and of course he gets killed. In fact, his death is so gruesome they don't even show it. That's saying something because there's plenty of severed arms and intestines and brains flying all around.
But frankly, I just don't get all the hoopla. I think Clint Eastwood is a good director but Americans think any movie that makes them cry is a masterpiece.
1 comment:
You do realize that this was based on a book written by the last surviving flag raiser's son and that it is a true story don't you? Its an incredibly sad true war story, concerning the fates of the men on this island for both sides.
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