Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

biggyofmt I don't I've ever seen a film so fairly depict a conflict. It captures the nature of war as long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. It humanizes an enemy, while unflinchingly confronting the evil nature of that nation's leadership. At it's center a sane man struggles to survive in a world that has quite literally gone mad.

renantesuello Okay,to be honest I was entertained by this movie, at least the first hour or so. The interaction between the general and the soldiers were executed very well. The young protagonist is a likable fella and has the makings of a great drama actor.The depictions of war though were very awkward and a few scenes were directly ripped off from Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, the film is like a comic book, that keeps rebooting its characters. The Japanese imperial troops in the movie are now, in Eastwood's misty vision, simply American farm lads with squinty eyes. They also have a mommy back home who cooks meals for them (aw shucks).Sorry Clint, these imperial soldiers were from a different time period and culture. They were a product of a twisted and barbaric way of thinking. It's called the dark side of patriotism, something you are very familiar with, given that you supervised that jingoist tripe, American Sniper. Frankly, it's very hypocritical. Here, you are making a statement that war is evil but in AS, it's alright, as long as it's made to defend the world from "terrorists".Simply put, most of Clint's directorial efforts are boring and sentimental pieces of junk (maybe with the exception of "A Perfect World"). He was great in Spaghetti westerns and dirty cop roles though.

gian_99 I have watched this movie on Netflix before it was removed. I have not watched "Flags of our fathers" so I can't compare this movie with its other half, but I found it a good representation of the Japanese, even if maybe the feelings represented are influenced by an American writing of the story.For example the Japanese military police is represented in a harsh way that I have not seen in Japanese movies. The necessity and responsibility the Japanese soldiers felt to defend their country is quite well, maybe not to its full extent, represented, which I imagine could have been difficult to write and watch for Americans. I feel the true Japanese side, ad was felt now, of the events is kind of Americanized or maybe softened in this movie (compare for example with The Emperor in August). On the other hand maybe this movie tells one Japanese side of the history of the war which wouldn't be completely easy to tell by the Japanese without some outside influence.Watanabe is great as usual and the movie is visually good. It lacks"greatness" but it's a nice watch.

peefyn I have yet to see Flags of our fathers, but I love the idea behind looking at a conflict from two different sides. I really appreciate what Clint Eastwood has done here, and I hope he and others will continue to explore the "less seen" perspectives of conflicts like this.But it still feels very much like a Western take of the Japanese perspective. The ideal Japanese characters in here has a lot of American influence (having lived there), and while I'm sure the movie is trying to be realistic when it comes to the Japanese mentality, it's still shown as something foreign. There are some good attempts at making their (more extreme) behavior understandable, but I think the movie can only do it's mission justice by going all the way.But when it does succeed, it's a very good movie, with several memorable moments.