nvincent

This movie ranks up there with the likes of "Road House" and "They Live" as one of those special films that isn't very good, yet is strangely captivating and impossible to turn away from once started. The best aspect of the film is the way it completely buys into the fantastical setting and characters. Always teetering on the brink of parody, "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" somehow wills its way into acceptance, producing a reaction that is part sympathy (for its sheer stupidity and unbridled chauvanism) and part respect/admiration (for creating its own macho world). This is not high art by any means, but it is a great "guy movie."

Remember the good old days when Star Wars actually had real models and real actors?

George Lucas has "cleverly" replaced them with a plethora of digital effects that are anything but convincing, and in the process, he has taken out the very aspect of the Star Wars franchise that made it so beloved; its heart. The major battle scenes of episodes 4, 5, and 6 were so exciting largely because they involved real characters with real feelings and emotions. The battle scenes of episode 2 are so heartless that even a kung-fu fighting Yoda can do little more than provide comic relief from the unintentionally funny "chemistry" between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman.

I really wanted to like episode 2, especially after the bitter taste left by episode 1, but it is obvious to any impartial viewer that the Star Wars franchise is sinking fast in a sea of digital effects and uninventiveness. Sure enough, this latest offering will go on to become one of the top grossing films of all-time. I don't know what is more sad, the demise of the once proud Star Wars franchise or the general public's overwhelming acceptance of it.

What a squandered opportunity.

Hart's War is yet another example of why movies rarely if ever live up to the book upon wich they are based. The novel of the same name by John Katzenbach is so clearly suited for the big screen it is almost frightening, and yet one has to wonder whether screenwriters Billy Ray and Terry George actually read the entire book or merely relied on cliff notes. The writers have taken an immensely engrossing tale of life in a German POW camp during WW2 and commercialized it with needless explosions and manipulative and improbable plot twists. The movie's thorough lack of character development hinders the best efforts of the actors (Bruce Willis, Collin Farrell, and Terrance Howard all do comendable work with the restrictive material they are given) to make the audience identify with them - resulting in an emotional climax that is supposed to evoke sympathy and respect but instead falls flat on its face. It is still beyond me why the makers of this film felt compelled to change the ending from the book - perhaps they feared it was too compelling and thought-provoking for their intended audience and felt obligated to dumb it down into as many cliche ridden speeches and improbable acts of courage and honor as possible. Whatever their reasons, the resulting lack of subtlety in this film is nothing less than insulting.

If I am being more harsh than other reviewers it is because I have read the book and know just what could have been accomplished. Do yourself a favor and read the book - it is far superior to this film or any other recent Hollywood offering.