I watched this movie last night after looking forward to it for awhile now. I really had come to believe that this was the cinema event of the year. ... however:
I was amazed at the thin story line and frankly found it dull, slow moving, and boring.
The whole story involved a General delegating an extremely important message/order in letter form to a corporal for delivery to the commanding officer of troops in a forward position. It was urgent that this message be delivered; there was no room for error and yet it was given to a corporal and his pal to deliver over nine miles of battlefield on foot!! The two corporals had 36 hours to get it there and most of the movie was how they dodged bullets, an airplane, and a zillion natural roadblocks. Throughout this time, other troops appeared to be moving around in motorized convoys. There were even airplanes flying above.
The corporal was selected seemingly because he had a brother in the front-line unit who he could then visit after delivering the message. Supposedly the communications lines had been cut, but still there were any number of more sure-fire and safer ways for a messenger to deliver this all-important message.
.... So first of all, the premise was ridiculous, and then it just became a tedious adventure while the two soldiers encountered a series of enemy soldiers (who really should not have even been there since the area had British troops both at the front and and in rear in reserve.) and various other roadblocks. When a dogfight took place above them, the enemy flyer crashed no more than 20 feet from them and then shot one of the two messengers when they saved him from a burning plane.
Tom Hanks would never have allowed him to get that close; he would have shot him instead of saving him. (Saving Private Ryan)
The filming was great; In fact the whole film captured an imaginative vision of the Western Front in 1917. That however was about it.
The story was lame, They worked a girl and a baby into the story. We got to watch a three bi-planes fight it out in the skies above France, One of the two messengers fell into a river and got wet, but managed to keep the letter dry.
There just was not much there. ... and this was one of best movies of recent times??
...............................................
My recommendation:
Skip this movie and watch the first 10 minutes of Kenneth Branagh's "The Magic Flute" which also features wide screen aerial shots of the Front during WWI. If you like opera, you can watch the whole movie. There are also some dancing/cavorting nuns along the way and lots of Mozart.
I was amazed at the thin story line and frankly found it dull, slow moving, and boring.
The whole story involved a General delegating an extremely important message/order in letter form to a corporal for delivery to the commanding officer of troops in a forward position. It was urgent that this message be delivered; there was no room for error and yet it was given to a corporal and his pal to deliver over nine miles of battlefield on foot!! The two corporals had 36 hours to get it there and most of the movie was how they dodged bullets, an airplane, and a zillion natural roadblocks. Throughout this time, other troops appeared to be moving around in motorized convoys. There were even airplanes flying above.
The corporal was selected seemingly because he had a brother in the front-line unit who he could then visit after delivering the message. Supposedly the communications lines had been cut, but still there were any number of more sure-fire and safer ways for a messenger to deliver this all-important message.
.... So first of all, the premise was ridiculous, and then it just became a tedious adventure while the two soldiers encountered a series of enemy soldiers (who really should not have even been there since the area had British troops both at the front and and in rear in reserve.) and various other roadblocks. When a dogfight took place above them, the enemy flyer crashed no more than 20 feet from them and then shot one of the two messengers when they saved him from a burning plane.
Tom Hanks would never have allowed him to get that close; he would have shot him instead of saving him. (Saving Private Ryan)
The filming was great; In fact the whole film captured an imaginative vision of the Western Front in 1917. That however was about it.
The story was lame, They worked a girl and a baby into the story. We got to watch a three bi-planes fight it out in the skies above France, One of the two messengers fell into a river and got wet, but managed to keep the letter dry.
There just was not much there. ... and this was one of best movies of recent times??
...............................................
My recommendation:
Skip this movie and watch the first 10 minutes of Kenneth Branagh's "The Magic Flute" which also features wide screen aerial shots of the Front during WWI. If you like opera, you can watch the whole movie. There are also some dancing/cavorting nuns along the way and lots of Mozart.
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