BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

adamcarter-63372 Flags of Our Fathers is a bit a of a hit and miss. On one hand the movie is quite different from other war films because most of the film's run-time takes place after the characters have "fought." The main focus in this film isn't about the war scenes and in fact they are more of a backdrop to the main plot. Usually it is the other way around in war films. It also has a very powerful message about how soldiers feel about being called heroes and how in reality that is just something we make up. Many scenes will stick with me including the ending shot of this film, a tense battle scene, and the scene when finally find out how one of the primary characters feel.On the other hand, the movie just doesn't do quite enough with this idea. It constantly and repeatedly beats us on the head trying to drive in an idea that the audience already understands. Also outside of the main conflict, the characters are so thin and underdeveloped that it is hard to connect with them. This movie needed great characters since this movie is centered around their emotions rather than battle scenes and a technical war plot. To care about this film, we need to feel through them. This movie has a counterpart (Letters from Iwo Jima) which shows the other side of the battle and that movie is a masterpiece which only makes this movie feel overshadowed. Flags of Our Fathers has a very important message, and is well worth watching, but it could've been handled so much better.

zkonedog The story of the flag-raisers of Iwo Jima is a fascinating one. From the perhaps not-so-common knowledge that the picture was actually of the second flag raised on the mountain, to the misrepresentation of those even in the picture, it is a narrative filled with drama and human interest. Director Clint Eastwood is the perfect figure to tackle such a project, and he does so with his usual aplomb (aside from perhaps a few narrative structure hiccups).For a basic plot summary, "Flags Of Our Fathers" tells the story of that famous picture taken of the American flag being hoisted atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima. The film many focuses on John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), & Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), three of the flag-raisers who survived the war and were recruited by the military to tell their story and be hailed as heroes to drum up sales for war bonds. Initially, the three men seem quite uncomfortable in this role, and as the story progresses (filled with flashbacks to the Iwo Jima battle itself) we learn why: Not only was the famous picture taken of the "second flag", but there is even an error regarding which men are in the picture. The military pushes the rhetoric over the truth in order to "sell, sell, sell" those war bonds, and the three men must deal with those repercussions.First and foremost, "Flags of our Fathers" is a great movie because it has a great story to tell. Most Americans can identify that iconic flag-raising photo, but many did not know the interesting story behind it. All movies succeed/fail primarily by the strength of the story, and it is in this category where "Flags" shines the brightest. One can see their own parents or grandparents (who may have participated in WW2) through the lens of these characters, and even extrapolate upon themes of military deception or obfuscation of the truth. Fortunately, Eastwood is always very good at keeping things grounded and practical instead of "rah rah" political, so this isn't a preachy film by any means. It lays out the story and lets the viewer make their own conclusions.Supporting that fine story is some great acting all the way around. The three leads are spot-on, while the auxiliary cast features such strong performers as: John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, & Neil McDonough. Simply put, acting isn't a problem in this film (!).About the only reason I can't give this picture the full five stars is because of Eastwood's rather odd choice of telling the narrative in such a disjointed fashion. Parts are flashbacks, parts are narrated by a researcher interviewing the aged veterans of Iwo Jima, and even the "real time" action can jump forward or back in time with little to no warning. To me, this led to a rather disjointed experience in trying to follow the overall narrative. It seemed like every time I would get comfortable in what time/place was being presented in the scene, it would jump to another just as quick. Luckily, Eastwood is a good enough director to still "make it work", but his other films usually take a more straightforward, direct approach.Overall, though, "Flags of our Fathers" is a great film filled with wartime action, human interest, and a story that will last down through the generations. It may lack the utter gravitas of the earlier "Saving Private Ryan", but it tells an equally (if not even more) compelling story. The telling of that story may be a bit fractured, but the sum of the parts is quite a moving, emotional experience.

Johan Dondokambey The movie really nicely serves the story, the real story, about the USMC famous flag photo of Iwo Jima. The story reveals the less known fact about the photo, the persons in it and the story about it. I was amazed to see that it was actually the second flag raised on the peak. The war bond tour inter-weaved plot also make the dramatization even better. Moreover, with the other side's story also being covered by Eastwood in Letters Fro Iwo Jima, it feels like a great complete story about that critical point of the Pacific theater of the war. With the same coloration choice and even sharing some of the same footage, it makes the two movies a real worthy back to back screening material. The acting overall is quite a good one. Ryan Phillippe acted out just enough for his character. Adam Beach did very well in depicting all those post traumatic stresses.

Sergeant_Tibbs The companion picture to the more acclaimed Letters From Iwo Jima is certainly the weaker of the pair. This side of the story isn't as interesting, though it has its moments. There's no doubt that it has great production, merging design with special effects seamlessly and hitting an astonishing scale. It mixes well with the saturated cinematography, but you can't help that it feels far too derivative of Saving Private Ryan's gruelling opening act, surely caused by perhaps the revisionist influence of producer Steven Spielberg. However, the real problem is that it struggles to find eyes to see the story through. Not choosing a protagonist isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it's been done well in The Thin Red Line, Black Hawk Down and Band of Brothers, but Flags Of Our Fathers is such a mish-mash of one dimensional characters that it ends up hard to follow. Given that creative choice, the nonlinear narrative was a mistake, leaving the film to meander to its point about heroism in war. It's a good point, but one in a grey area and doesn't seem to flesh out the iconic picture as much as it wants to. I should revisit Letters From Iwo Jima but I know it won't be a pleasant experience.6/10