Wicked Spring

Plot less and inane. This incredibly boring movie made Gods and Generals look like an action flick. It seems the writer/director really doesn't have much to say about the Civil War experience. What little story there is could have been told in a fifteen minute short. Filming a few re-enactors shooting at each other in the woods is not much of a plot. On top of this the lead characters are flat and uninspired. What is also of interest is the fact that in the making of video the filmmakers emphasize the historical accuracy of the movie. I counted at least 9 major errors, the most glaring is the totally out of date train. If you claim historical accuracy you best deliver.

Wicked Spring is like a beautiful blonde that you see across a crowded room. She looks great, everything is in the right place. You decide to approach, and as you get near you begin to see the flaws carefully hidden beneath the make up. Still she is very attractive up close. But then... She opens her mouth to speak. And you discover she is a total vacuum with absolutely nothing to say. Instantly, you wish you were somewhere else talking to anybody but her. Wicked Spring looks good on the surface. High marks for period set design and wardrobe. But then you realized this writer/director is more impressed with surface gloss than any real substance or depth. I agree with one of the other comments that said Wicked Spring would have been better with some severe editing, turning it into a short. At a more abbreviated length it might stand up a bit better as one could overlook the lack of character development and lack of any meaningful drama.

"Wicked Spring" is a very ordinary low budget indie which plays out like a slice of Civil War life as men from both sides spend time together during a respite in the Battle of the Wilderness. This plotless film is put together with relatively unknown actors delivering mediocre performances; lots of reenactment battle scenes which give no sense of generaling and strategy; and a big dose of visuals to make up for the absence of content and story arc; etc. I'm a Civil War buff of sorts and have seen just about everything from Ken Burns CW to Glory to the Gettysburgs to the Civil War Journal, Red Badge of Courage, North vs South, etc., etc. and, though I think I understand what Hershberger was trying to do with this movie, it just didn't work for me. Keep expectations real and make this the last CW movie you watch. (C)

I see that a lot of people feel the same way about this flick. And it's all because NOTHING HAPPENS! Hard to believe that a war flick could be boring, but this one is. In the entire course of this film we watch as soldiers from both sides go off to war, fight in a pitched battle, face each other in an oft repeated truce, and then succumb to an all to predictable end. That's it. Dialog is very minimal, characterization is non existent, and the battle scenes are tepid at best. Horribly uninspired and weak.

First and foremost is the story. No matter what kind of special effects or horrific battle scenes you toss in, you've got to have a story. This film lacks even the rudiments of a good story. This film is so plotless that it makes it difficult to criticize. Its hard to discuss something that isn't there! In other words, the plot is so very simplistic as to be non existent. It seems that the director was so dazzled by the cinematography, so wrapped up in capturing the boys in blue and gray, that he utterly failed to bother with plot or character development. What you end up with is a "pretty" film with no substance. The movie equivalent of a beautiful blonde with the intelligence of a gnat. Unfortunately even this glossy initial appearance fades quickly as well. The battle scenes are pedestrian and unrewarding. Attempts to use sound design to fool the viewer into thinking there are a lot more soldiers than what we see on screen, fail abysmally. And the failure of the director to actually take the viewer into the battle, leaves you with an unemotional "third person" documentary feel. So what you get after looking past the apparent glitz and glamour of this Civil War movie, is a very weak, overly simplistic, lackluster montage of battle scenes.