uscmd

The first time I saw this was in a theatre, I left after 30 minutes. Profoundly disturbed. I was a medic in viet nam, starting at 19. Just prior to my discharge at 22, my job in the hospital was to take horribly wounded teens to the photo lab in the basement, for pictures, to document the course of their treatment. At 23 I started med school. And at 78, nothing has come close to the nightmares at the army hospital. Yet this movie some how was worse. Why did they keep him alive? It was WWI, and they did it to see if they could.

Hands down this was by far the most disturbing movie I ever saw. What totally boggles my mind, is its rated PG. A bit of nudity might merit an R. I think this could easily be a commentary on our culture. 55 years I still have nightmares about this movie. Its well done, but the subject matter is not for the faint hearted. Hats off to the writers, Dalton Trumbo and Luis Bunuel.

Bunuel was a straight up genius.

Think of the money saved by eschewing, period wardrobes. The women looked liked they were attending a 21st century Hollywood party.

One thing I missed was the drama of the archery contest in the original, Errol Flynn knowingly walking into a trap. The cat and mouse aspects that repeated throughout. Personally, I very much liked the casting.

Considering much of what, movie wise, is currently on premium and non-premium tv, I think this is a must try. I'm actually including in collection of 1000 movies. Movies I'd like to see again. I'm giving it 8 stars, and I hope you'll consider this, and forget the 5 rating it currently shows. Lastly, and the reason for my rating is simply, this IS a movie for circa 2018, and beyond. Gritty, action scenes, that should capture todays 15-50 year olds.

Action/violence on the level of a movie from the franchise of "taken" or "john wick." I expected it would be one hand on the popcorn, the other on the fast forward button. But no. The crooked cops, the burned out soldier of fortune, finding a cause worth risking her life. There are twists, you won't see coming.

Fun. Worth giving it a shot. 6.5. It drops a little because its obviously not a big budget, slick Hollywood production. That was a negative, but after 15 minutes, that ceasaes to be an issue. When it ended, I actually wondered if this could find its way to Dominique II? Probably not....but think of all the crappy movies that have seen a 2nd iteration.