michaelseither

I went through basic in 1970. I joined the Air Force and went to Lackland. I guess I expected something similar here but hey, these guys were staying a week longer and going into armor and perhaps immediate combat. I got a four year deferment for college and was more like 22 than 18-19. You can plainly see these kids are not ready to be thrown in there with claymores and M16s. Some are close maybe. Most, I don't think so. All the propaganda, all the patriotism, all the positive thinking can't overcome the reality of this video. It's really hard to watch. HIs film called Meat showing animal slaughter, the hospital one, the mental ward stuff, all really hard to watch. Should we not avert our eyes? This is strong stuff and should be required viewing in school but won't because its reality is to awful to contemplate. Isn't that ironic?

You have to buy into a story to get involved. It has to be just a little believable. Just a little. It has to involve sane, rational people making justifiable decisions. I'll admit "movie" people make crazy decisions, especially in horror movies where they stick their heads into alien pods to get a closer look. But this movie's initiating action is so bizarrely forced that it's impossible for me to believe anybody could buy in. If I described it, you'd laugh out loud. Sure, in romcoms people "meet cute." Strange things bring them together only to be temporarily separated by the 3rd act reversal. I get it. But the meet scene just doesn't work on any level. It's in the script but it's not on the pages. There is no "there" there. The rest of it is stale JLo song and dance. If you a big fan of hers, you'll get a kick out of it although you've seen it all before. Owen Wilson is Owen Wilson. He and JLo have zero chemistry. Zero. But, on the positive side we get lots of progressivism (I'll refrain from woke). Check marks for all the tropes. So if you like to see that kind of thing, this one's for you. Doesn't fit the script but the script was written with a few goals, one of which was 21st century social progress. And yes, we have lots of other social media tropes as well. Again, if that's you thing, you'll like it. I read some reviews before we saw it. Quite a few were positive. Even though subjective, I thought the reviews needed a little reasoned perspective, or put another way, you've been warned.

Lots of talent on display. Actors, director, production, setting, etc. For me, much ado about not enough. The multiple viewpoints isn't new and in this flick, isn't essential at all. It's a gimmick that doesn't add much to the narrative. The story reveals that there wasn't much 21st century sensibility in the 14th century. Again, so what? We should feel empathy for the female lead's struggles (not going into it to spoil the plot) but she's cold and distant and remote. So much doesn't make sense, including her being left isolated and opening her door to a random person she doesn't know. Adam Driver is handsome? She must also be nearsighted. The Ben Affleck - Matt Damon dynamic here is flat. Affleck is a caricature. It's hard to know who to engage with as a protagonist with the switching dynamics but overall you want Damon to prevail, not because you sympathize with him, he's just the lesser of the evils presented. You'd expect Driver's version to make him seem sympathetic but his delusion is both bizarre and not understandable. He comes off as politely brain damaged. I did get into at the end for the finale, it's a good fight scene, no doubt. R. Scott's forte. The film is dull or abhorrent when there's no fight scene and the fight scenes are done well and contain gratuitous violence. Again, maybe to show the brutality of the time? Or to titillate? Or gee, why not? Don't know. I think the basic story is a bit of a failure. If it's not on the page, it's not going to engage. Overlong. I did sit through it all and the finale is exciting. I can see why it flopped at the box office. Word of mouth would not be good. All the 9 and 10 reviews most have low expectations for a big production like this one. I think the audience's reaction at the box office tells the story. Too long, too flat and or distasteful between action scenes. So a 5.