Rating: Summary: Overall, a very good film Review: I enjoyed this one, but it slightly disappointed me at the same time. I hoped for a realistic portrayal of the siege of Stalingrad, but the focus narrows onto a few main characters. The love triangle was a pretty trite and dull way to enhance the plot, probably put in to broaden the appeal of the film. Rachel Weisz is hot, but she is either always miscast or is just an irritating, weak actress. The portrayal of Nikita Khruschev is unconvincing, to put it mildly. Apart from these negatives however, it is an enthralling film. The sniper battles are both realistic and suspenseful. Ed Harris (the german) and Jude Law both give great performances. The direction and cinematography are also very nice. If they put some more work on the plot and character development I would maybe have given it five stars.
Rating: Summary: The war movie that brought me into war movies. Review: The Lost Battalion, Saving Private Ryan, All Quiet on the Western Front. You name it, I hadn't seen it, until i decided to see this movie with my friends. Before watching this exciting sniper based film in the devastated city of Stalingrad, the only protection of the oil wells in China from the Nazi army. Before this movie, The Patriot was the lone one on my list. Thank you The Enemy at the Gates, for bringing me into a movie genre that so greatly intertwines action, passion, brotherhood, and sorrow into a single movie.
Rating: Summary: The Greatest War Movie Of Our Time Review: This is a great movie . I loved this movie . It is so great . Has a little sad parts in it and good action scenes thatll have you on your feet waiting to see whats bound to happen . I have watched this movie over and over and over and over LoL .. I just love it . Its my favorite war movie of all time .
Rating: Summary: Enemy At The Gates Review: This film is something of a complication. Although I did enjoy it there are many arguments. First the good points! The almost all British cast (except Ed Harris) are top-notch including Jude Law (A.1, Road To Perdition, Gattaca), Rachael Weisz (The Mummy & Mummy Returns, About A Boy), Joseph Fiennes (End Of The Affair, Shakespeare In Love), Bob Hoskins (too many to name!)...and Ed Harris (who I don't know much about really). The real shiners in the cast are Jude Law - and particularly Bob Hoskins (who was infact the only actor that even attempted a Russian accent!). Rachael Weisz and Joseph Fiennes (who was annoying - and second rate to his brother Ralph in my opinion) were wasted however. They failed to make a big impression on the film (suprisingly enough considering their calibres!). The graphics are as good as can be wished for, plot interesting and probably one of the best war films around. Due to [bad] attempts of war films such as 'Windtalkers', which really does twist history (ie - with soldiers singing to children and giving them chocolate when really they raped and pillaged) this is a masterpiece! Ok - If you like war films in general then I suggest to watch this, or even if you like thrillers, I suggest you watch this. If however you like tacky, twisted plots (with lots of bangs), or even accurately followed historical events then this may not be for you, but nevertheless still worth watching. I'd advise any Russians to stay clear though as nobody likes to see foreign actors take the roles of their own historical 'heros' - especially when they make no attempt to keep it Russian (ie - keeping the British accents).
Rating: Summary: [title censored] Review: What a joke! And I am not talking about British accents or plump cheeks on what supposed to be a half-starving Russian kid, or American-made helmets on the Red Army soldiers. Or the "cardboard" characters, completely unbelievable given their Soviet background and the power of propaganda at the time. What really puts me off is the blue reflections from komissar's fancy precision made anti-glare glasses.
Rating: Summary: disappointing ! Review: this film could have had it all _ a gruesome battle in WWII, historical truth and a great beginning, the train ride, the crossing of the don, the attack in the city, it all promised a great war movie... but then after the first encounter of danilo and zaitsev it just stops ! but not only that _ it also becomes extremely unrealistic. first _ the description of the "stupid germans" is boring, the german soldiers as well as the russian soldiers were not stupid ! second the uniforms and medals , especially the german, they are not only partly inaccurate, the negative highlight was when ed harris/major koenig spoke about his son who was killed and handed a medal down which he said was the iron cross of his son. but it was no iron cross, it was the german war merit award ! this is a stupid mistake and i cannot forgive this , sorry for being picky ! this film is a wasted effort of making a hollywood-version of the german film "stalingrad"., really. watch "stalingrad" instead, it is much better, or best, read one of these books, " stalingrad" by theodor plievier and "stalingrad" by anthony beevor. both are far better than 10 minutes of this film... sorry.
Rating: Summary: Read 'War of the Rats' instead... Review: This is a very average war movie. The plot is extremely thin and the characters not explained well enough. If you like the genre, read 'War of the Rats' instead.
Rating: Summary: A GREAT WAR FILM Review: First of all, yes the Russians are played by English actors. This film was made by an English studio. The language does not matter at all. Most people don't like staring at the bottom of the screen at subtitles. If the German point of view was not focused on as much, they probly would have had subtitles for the Germans. Language is not an issue. The story is the issue. Look at all the CLASSIC war films where English is spoken on screen to portray other nations soldiers: "Paths Of Glory", Kirk Douglas plays a Frenchman. "Midway", the Japanese speak English in the film. In "The Train", the French and German characters all speak English in the film. The idea is to know that they are speaking English, but that it is supposed to represent their language in the film. It dosent mean that all the characters in the film are speaking one universal language. This film is a great war film. It has epic battle scenes, and the acting is well done. This film was always compaired to "Saving Private Ryan". It is not as brutal, but it is a very stark, tough war film. I think it is one of the best war films I have seen in years.
Rating: Summary: All Costume and No Drama Review: This is a big-budget Costume Drama that is All Costume and No Drama. It wastes very good actors (Ed Harris, Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins) on a very thin script and very lavish production-values. There is hardly any suspense, and it's a pity to see actors try so hard with so little to work with. The high point is seeing how much Bob Hoskins looks like Kruschev. We used to hear that the personal is political; this movie takes the opposite position, that all politics is merely personal. Pretty ham-handed and silly; and you can see the actors squirming to deliver their lines. Propagandistic and tiresome; but visually beautiful.
Rating: Summary: Suprising Review: After reading all the negative reviews for this movie, I was hesitant to watch it. But once I saw it I was suprised. This is actually a good movie. The role Hollywood plays in it is very obvious and that is kind of a draw back but the plot is not ruined in the process. If you ask me, see this movie. Your opinion is your opinion but I feel you will enjoy it.
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