Wicked Spring

"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 saw this one in the video store just the other day. Being a huge Civil War buff I just had to pick it up. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a big disappointment. I see, by many of the other comments written here, that I am not alone in seeing the primary (huge!) fault in this movie. It doesn't have a plot or a story! Are we supposed to "ooooh!" and "aaaaah" over beautiful scenes of actors and reenactors dressed up in authentic uniforms? Are we supposed to look at the pretty packaging and not notice that this film doesn't really have any depth? The whole story (and I use that term loosely!) can be distilled into one sentence. Soldiers in the war were once civilians with lives all their own, and soldiers in that war die. I've seen more depth to the subject in a children's book. All in all, not very good

I have to disagree with most of what's been said about this film. Sure, it's pretty to look at and the uniforms are right, but where's the plot? Where are the correct sound effects? Where's the character development?

The only good things about this film are Brian Merrick and DJ Perry. The scene with the letters is completely moving and believable. Too bad it takes that long to get to something meaty! The stuttering kid and the monkey-faced man could have been completely eliminated as they provided absolutely nothing.

The opening sequence was a waste - the facial hair change on DJP was too drastic - it didn't explain enough - and it was so dull it didn't catch my attention to make me really want to watch the film. That and the voiceover was just completely overacted (like most of the acting in the film).

Wicked Spring could do with a re-editing (it's really only got enough good material to be a short), some additional character development (why the heck was Harrison so upset when the guy in the beginning died?), and some realistic sound effects. Oh, and something that makes this interesting to the non Civil War buff.

Yawn.

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.

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.