Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
All is NOT quiet...
Gabe - wrote on 04/26/2013
A far more brutal film than Saving Private Ryan, which is probably the greatest war film of all time. I prefer Platoon, but to each his own. This is a WW1 film told from the German POV. A boy must make a choice, to join the war effort, or not. His whole class chooses to go the to front line after a riveting speech from their teacher.
Once there, he learns that the war is not all that it's made out to be. All of his friends that joined are killed, except for him. He goes home and realizes that everyone back home is a master war tactician, but they just won't/can't believe the boy who was actually there. This to me is the best part of the film. When he realizes that after witnessing what he has, he's actually more comfortable in the trenches than he is in his own home. You here …
Rating of
2.5/4
All Quiet on the Western Front review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 01/23/2013
"It felt so good to be alive." It starts with boys being recruited in school. Much like Full Metal Jacket, the commanding officer was very strict, though lacked the personality unlike the one in the aforementioned Kubrick masterpiece. Not enough background of the soldiers unlike films like Platoon, Apocalypse Now or even Thin Red Line.
Though the film has an earnest message and may have been pioneering for its genre, its humor, performances and pace have dated. Sluggish storytelling is a pain to watch coupled with a few coy moments with the soldiers dialogues and gestures make them effeminate. It doesn't boast of any memorable soundtrack but substitutes it with realistic war sequences. The screenplay was its strength with lines: "War is war." "When it comes to dying for …
