Rating: 
Summary: "I have no greater duty than to me home"
Review: All of the criticism is sickening towards this movie.I've heard people complain about this movie glorifying the south. Unfortunately, they do not realize that during the time period this film takes place, the south spanked the north. Okay, so there was slavery in the south. Was that the reason for the war? Heck no. How many soldiers in the Confederacy actually owned slaves? This movie does a wonderful job of portraying the real reasons for the war. I've also heard complaints of the movie being too long. I feel the movie was too short. The 6-hour version soon to come out will do the story greater justice as you can not take two and a half years and justly squeeze it into less than four hours. The music accompanying the movie is wonderful and full of emotion. There are at least three times in the movie when I was moved to tears. $...well spent at the theaters. Don't judge a book by its cover -- see it for yourself before you give it a failing grade.
Rating: 
Summary: Gods and Generals
Review: What a tribute to "Stonewall" Jackson's military contributions to the US Army, then as an instructor at VMI and finally the ultimate sacrifice.
Prior to seeing the movie, we strongly recommend reading the history of three battles on the war, First Bull Run or First Manassas, Fredericksburg 1862 and finally the Wilderness and Chancellorsville, 1863 prior to seeing the movie.
This will clearly set the time of the American Civil War and help follow the leading characters depicted in the book by Jeff Shara. One will see how well Jeff's book mirrors the history of these events. As compared to Gettysburg, this movie becomes very personal on the life of Stonewall Jackson. This movie provides a novice historian a good prespective of the hardships of the soldiers and the horror of war. I recommend this movie for historians and for good entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Far better than Gettysburg. Worth the time and money
Review: I apporached this movie with some doubt, not because of the politically correct panning that this picture has picked up but because of the poor acting and plotting in Gettysburg. I was pleased to see that such fears were totally unwarranted. Gods and Generals is an excellent start to the trilogy, a start which actually improves Gettysburg by its existance. DuVal in my opinion was born to play Lee as much as he was born to play Tom Hayden, in addition Stephen Lang give an Oscar worthy performance as Stonwall Jackson, (far superior to his job in the first movie as Pickett.) however since this is a sympathetic portrayal of not only a Confederate General but a believer in Christ that is as likely as Ms Streisand joining Demorcrats for Bush. It would not be a stretch to say that this movie is Turner's love letter to the south and some might object on that basis, that however ignores two relevent facts: This is a quality picture in its own right and it will not change the outcome of the war. Howell and Conway repeat their fine performances from the first movie and a stockier Jess Daniels frankly improves on his first performance. The action scenes and the battle scenes were also an improved over the first picture. I suspect practice makes perfect and the next movie will likely be even better. The Character development on the home front and the torn loyalties of both slaves and their masters are portrayed well. This great contradiction which Daniels expands on in his final speech make the movie more interesting and also makes it dangerous to the PC crowd. I can't shake the feeling however that it should have been two movies. Like the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter movies this movie delivers quality and a lot of picture for your money, unlike those movies which didn't feel long this one did. It is the only thing that keeps it from 5 stars. I will without a doubt buy the extended DVD when it comes out and will await the final move with pleasure. I hope the poor box office doesn't prevent it from being made. (After all Turner can afford it.)
Rating: 
Summary: "Those who are about to watch this movie salute you!"
Review: Needless to say, a disappointment. This film is inferior in almost every respect to its predecessor, "Gettysburg," for the same reasons its source material is inferior to that film's source. "Gettysburg" and "The Killer Angels," Michael Shaara's Pulitzer-winning novel, covered three days and focused on four primary characters. His son Jeff's prequel, which this movie is named after, attempted to condense five years and four lives into one book with mixed results. Civil War novices could not appreciate much of the sequence of events nor learn the underlying causes. "Gods and Generals: The Movie" compounds this glancing approach to key moments (e.g., don't blink or you'll miss General Hooker!) by adding nonessential scenes, tacked-on gilded speeches, and lengthy quotations of poetry. And it's laudable, overt portrayal of the spiritual devotion of the principals - something I was eagerly anticipating - is also hurt by the same melodramatics. There are a few honest-to-goodness quality moments. I cherished those. But it is all completely overshadowed by the horror I shall now describe. I know he paid for this movie, but someone needed to step up and cut out Ted Turner's suspension-of-disbelief-shattering cameo and the misbegotten sing-along that surrounds it. Not only does he look like a time-traveling corporate executive but also the sight of Ted jawboning with Robert E. Lee and his commanders and all of them merrily joining in as a fey troubador sings "Bonnie Blue Flag" is a shock from which I may never recover. Or, as this script would put it "The sight of the general and his most trusted lieutenants, in such a state of unabashed and idle revelry, would cause my heart such piteous fright that I may not soon - unless providence intervene and the good will of others reign supreme - recover to my previous healthy and heretofore vital state. I pray such an occasion never come to pass upon my person."
Rating: 
Summary: "Gods and Generals" a missed opportunity
Review: I am a Civil War buff who enjoyed "Gettysburg" and had high hopes for "Gods and Generals." Unfortunately, Ron Maxwell's latest is a great disappointment. The movie seems like a series of set pieces, with the sole aim of enabling Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee to spout famous quotations and strike poses out of Don Troiani prints. For all the abuse heaped on Martin Sheen in "Gettysburg," Robert Duvall fares little better as Lee. Like Sheen, Duvall's Lee looks old and sick and displays none of the spark that made Lee one of history's greatest fighting generals. Stephen Lang portrays Stonewall Jackson as a warrior saint, constantly beseeching the heavens for assistance for the great Southern cause. His one-note performance gets boring, and the stilted dialogue robs the movie of drama and makes almost every scene seem phony. Jeff Daniels was great as Chamberlain in "Gettysburg," but here he has little to do, and the movie has such a pro-Southern slant that you start to wonder who won the war anyway.
This movie trumpets its own historical accuracy, and the battle scenes are grandly staged, but viewers should be aware that it is presenting a very selective history. Battles in which Stonewall Jackson performed ineptly are omitted. The portrayal of slaves as passive, happy and loyal to their kind masters makes Mammy in "Gone With the Wind" seem progressive. This is a Southern fantasy, pure and simple, and it can only be enjoyed by those who like their history one-sided and untainted by inconvenient realities.
At the end of this three and a half-hour mess, there is a tag line that promotes "The Last Full Measure," the final installment in the Ted Turner-Ron Maxwell Civil War trilogy. I guess we can all look forward to another Southern-fried weeper. Bring on Ulysses S. Grant, and let's get this thing over with -- again.
Rating:
Summary: Stilted and melodramatic
Review: First, the good points...G&G uses its landscapes well. The romantic rolling countryside covered with bodies and blood. Very effective. Unfortunately, that was the only good thing I could say about the film. G&G has to be one of the most boring films I've ever seen. Historically it might even be accurate. However, as a film, it sorely lacks in plot, dialogue, editing and for the most part, acting. In the first of four grueling hours, the audience visits so many historic characters and sites that they all look virtually alike so that it is near impossible to tell them apart. Civil War buffs can appreciate the subtleties, but for someone who only has a passing interest in the Civil War of the United States, it only lends to the confusion. One of the enlisted men for the Southern States said it best when he indicated that because Southern soldiers didn't have a common uniform that it was impossible to tell who was the fighting with them and who was fighting against them. He wasn't alone.... My main criticism with the movie has got to be the horrible dialogue which is so cliche'ed and melodramatic that it would be laughable...if it didn't put you to sleep. I have not heard dialogue this bad since "Batman & Robin". G&G lacks a strong central character although Stephen Lang gave it his best as Stonewall Jackson. But, Lang's acting was overshadowed by inane platitudes about "God and Country" which I suspect the director expected would carry the film in these times when we are on the brink of war again. The director would have been better served by focusing on only one battle (rather than two) and getting a decent scriptwriter to beef up the script. Sadly, even the musical score was only mediocre in this overblown epic. Highly NOT recommended. Not even on video....
Rating:
Summary: Accuracy is NOT the story here . . .
Review: . . . the story is that war is fought by people, and there are people on both sides of the conflict. Is the story accurate? Maybe not, but does the story convey that there are real people, with real thoughts and feelings and hopes, wishes, desires, hates and passions? "Gods and Generals" does more than succeed at this--it excels. Those who criticize the movie for historical inaccuracies fail to account for the art in film making--tell a story about people and their faults and triumphs and you get the compelling part of any human endeavor, be it war, taming the sea, scaling a mountain or falling in love. Save the accuracy for the History Channel--I prefer a drama which moves and compels and delivers characters. In "Gods and Generals" we get that and so much more--we get the tragedy of war and the triumph, and we leave knowing why war is terrible, and yet, why it must be fought. The real test and question is whether you are able to suspend your disbelief and go where the film maker takes you. For me, the answer was a resounding "Yes!" "Gods and Generals" succeeds in every way that I've described and delivers history as a bonus. To search for accuracy, watch the movie, then visit Manassas, Fredricksburg, Gettysburg and Appomattox--it will enrich you, and if its accuracy you want, your visit to these hallowed places will deliver, and your visit will be enhanced by the film maker who will have already painted the images that will make it all come to life while visiting these battlefields. Be sure to take the time to see the flag of our country fluttering above the visitor's centers at each site, and know that the ground upon which you tread was where that flag was bought and paid for . . . . by people not too unlike you and me. "Five Stars" for a story about those who wear stars and serve under God's stars.
Rating:
Summary: Required viewing...even for Yankees :o)
Review: Just like a lot of folks who have written here already, I live smack in the middle of some major (and minor) CW battlegrounds. Shucks, Chamberlain even became ill in my hometown of Remington (then Rappahannock Station, VA). All I can say about GODS AND GENERALS is that it is a must-see. I can't wait for the third installment to arrive. The only disappointments I had were as follows: 1. cheap looking distant cannon flashes at Mayre's Heights in Fredericksburg (budget cuts I'm sure). 2. vastly inferior music score compared to GETTYSBURG (No, I didn't like Green Mountain...I think the wrong person sang it). 3. Waiting too long to shoot the 2nd installment(and losing Berenger in the process). 4. Lack of perceived recoil of firearms in closeups (hey, these things really did kick some, you know!). I don't like "fluffy" movie scenes, but the ones depicting the women in the lives of the CW characters were done with grace and dignity. It kept my wife's attention, and I must admit mine too!! Anything made by man can fail, and nobody's perfect. Just the fact that Ted Turner allowed prayer and Bible quotations in his release shows me there is hope for him yet! Thanks Jeff, Ron, Ted and all for a great rendition of a somber theme.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie-can't wait for 'The Last Full Measure'!
Review: Gods and Generals is an amazing film, one that I didn't think could ever be made in America today, I'm sad to say, because it unashamedly portrays historical characters and events in their TRUE contexts, not dressed in the politically correct thought and language of today. Southerners are presented in this film thinking and acting as they actually did, not as dunderheaded Hollywood types imagine they should. Judging both from the reviews of the overwhelminging leftist, liberal movie reviewers across America, they are shocked that Hollywood, not to mention one of their icons, Ted Turner, would let such a film be made. Their utterly predictable expressions of outrage towards the film's depiction of the Southern Cause, slavery and religious faith just confirm that this is a remarkable film, a landmark in the history of American filmmaking. I look forward to with anticipation to the third installment of the series, The Last Full Measure, and for the role of U.S. Grant , I would suggest, based upon his recent work, Mel Gibson. He has proven that he can play understated, subdued, yet determined characters, such as in 'The Patriot', and 'Signs', and he resembles Grant enough, that I think his portrayal would be historic. I would very much enjoy the scene of Mel Gibson and Robert Duvall meeting in the McLean Parlor at Appomattox; I believe it would be very memorable, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Awful Movie !
Review: Civil War history has always interested me, and I have visited many historical sites from Big Black River to Gettysburg. It was my sincere hope that Gods and Generals would improve upon the movie Gettysburg, but it did not. Why can't these people capture the story of the Civil War on film in a quality manner so that even non Civil War historians can gain a better appreciation of this tragic event in American history ? I am still waiting for another Civil War movie to match, or go beyond, the standard set by Glory. Gods and Generals fell well short of that mark.
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