Hicks

WARNING! - People who consider Armageddon the best movie ever made or Pearl Harbor one of the true war movies ever made. PLEASE do not read this comment or watch this movie. Go watch X-men instead or vote for Bush one more time. Thank you.

Ok for the ones who do not categorize themselves to the previous mentioned group. That means a least you know what a great movie is.

And guess what? - This is a great movie whether you Like it or Not. You will be amazed how this movie will make you think and feel after you have watched it.

Let me start from the technical point of view. One of the most impressive things in this picture is cinematography (camera movements, colors, lightning). Starting right from the begging and till the very last minute. Just great.

Acting. If you have seen the movie you definitely know what I am talking about. The storyline of this movie plays in the psychiatric hospital in Chechnya, so most of the leading characters are mentally unstable, so I think you get the picture. Sometimes you can't distinguish real actors from mentally ill and believe me, what you will see on the screen comes very, very close to real life.

The screenplay has no flaws, yes it has none. If you have some trouble understanding something in this movie, that only means three things: 1. You are not Russian and you have trouble understanding some little details of Russian culture, language or war in Chechnya. (I will give you example below) 2. You belong to above-mentioned group of the audience.(see WARNING) 3. You are completely Dump (in this case go read some books, no don't go watch CNN and say `Year I know this' I mean books, talk to people, debate, learn something ect.)

Example.. There is a moment in the movie when a camera tracks over the floor in the hospital and there is a TV set. TV broadcasting an interview with one of the generals of Russian army and a reporter asks him `Don't you think it is insane to go into Grozny first with tanks and then by ground forces' For average western audience no body even understood what it is about.

In the real life this decision caused allot of casualties. It was very stupid move. Even some of the military guys who were there and have seen this shit, admitted to that. Plus the vocabulary (Russian), which is used in this movie, is quiet strong and sometimes funny for Russian speaking though.

There is only one thing that can be a little `to much' and that is the Bryn Adams song. And still this is only for non-Russian audience. Because this is actually shows that this is the only thing in the main characters life and the passion for the western music especially in the beginning of 90s in Russia.

I think that I have written enough. For those who have not seen this picture and actually read till this point of my review I strongly advise to see this motion picture. You definitely will like it. Because, this is one of the best Russian movies of all times.

I have enjoined watching this SF movie, based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein. You do not have to think hard or anything else, if you like the genre just sit back and enjoy the ride. This film has the same structure as Robocop. We have to thank for that the same filmmaker: Paul Verhoeven, Jost Vacano and Edward Neumeier. So if you like Robocop you should like this one. Some comments say that this is a B movie. I do not think so, but there are some things, which will make you make that decision. The only thing, which I can say: `This is a B movie thing', is the design of the spacecrafts. For the rest it is top notch: Special Effects - one of the best I have ever seen, music by Basil Polidorious is just awesome, cinematography - very good (Jost Vacano - way to go). The problem with the script is obvious, but as I said, `You do not have to think during this SF flick', this is not some serious movie about the war or the war tactics. This is more of the satire. Be course some thing will remind you of the Vietnam War, some of WWII. Some people criticised it like it was some `Platoon' or `Saving Private Rayn'. They just did not see that you do not have to judge this film on the same level as above-mentioned movies. The blood and gore just filled the movie. If you will cut all the gory parts of the movie it will not be the same. Acting is good, not cheesy, as some will expect. This movie has its weight in SF genre and it is definitely one of the best SF movies in the 90s.

Despite all the negative feedback that this movie received, I do consider it an excellent movie. I believe that the movie succeeded to capture "alien atmosphere" in its own unique manner. Dark and rusty mood, feel of desperation, empathy, horror and terror are all mixed in one great movie-making cocktail. There is no combat action like in the previous installment 'Aliens', that alone, was definitely the right decision to follow. The music score by Elliot Goldenthal is astonishing. In my opinion, the music score is like a second nature to this universe and Mr. Goldenthal definitely delivers a consistent yet unique accompaniment. To this day I do consider it as his best work. Bravo Maestro! The suspense in the film is rigid, the 'running in the tunnels' scenes are very chilling, with cast delivering first-rate performance. Special Effects are good and the ending; well what can I say not to spoil it. If the movie does not have a happy end it does not make it a bad movie. This is definitely a solid chapter that makes a perfect trilogy complete.