Rating: 
Summary: Very Dissapointed
Review: Yes the battle scenes are great and Stephen Lang does a fine performance as Stonewall..but everything else is lousy. Where do i begin: 1) Skipping battles from the 1st Bull Run to Fredericksburg? This was a huge dissapointment. 2) I don't wanna listen to a man sing for 3 minutes when there was so much left out. 3) Yes, the Irish brigade story was very interesting (fighting against fellow irishmen of the Confederacy) but what about alittle development of Hancoock and his division. I feel like he was thrown into this movie and there was no explanation whatsoever of who he was. 4) The Chancelorsville depiction gives no credit to May 3rd when over 23,000 men fell (they only refer to how Stuart triumphed on that day) 5) Robert E. Lee was really a minor part of the movie..i honestly got alittle tired of Stephan Lang talking so much
Rating: 
Summary: A CLASSIC WAR FILM EPIC
Review: This film was wonderful. It preserved the integrity of "Gettysburg". It is a four hour work of art. I have read that if the film makes at least 50 million dollars at the box office, they will go ahead with the third and final film in the series, "Last full Measure". I am not sure it will make that much, I have not heard as much praise for this film as I expected. It is a classic. If you enjoy war films, go and see this at the theatre. You will get your money's worth. I hope it will make enough money to clear the way for the third film. I'm sure it will also be great.
Rating:
Summary: Best American Historical film. Period.
Review: ... Gods and Generals is the best American historical film. Period. I think it was better than "Gettysburg".
Rating: 
Summary: What a bore!
Review: I have always been a great follower of anything to do with the Civil War. I very much enjoyed Gettysburg the first film in this trilogy, but I can't remember the last time I saw a film that I found this disapointing!
The biggest problem in this film is with the editing. Some scenes deserve to be left on the cutting room floor, unfortunatly three quarters of this film falls into this catagory! I also have a real problem with the depliction of the slaves in Gods and Generals, this film makes it look like slavery wasn't a problem for anyone and that it really didn't even excist.
I will say that the battle scenes were very well done, unfortunatly that isn't enough to save this cluncker!
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatically powerful and sobering...
Review: Despite some astonishingly shallow criticism in the popular press, Director Maxwell's GODS AND GENERALS is worthy successor to GETTYSBURG, his cinematic adaptation of Michael Sharra's universally acclaimed,THE KILLER ANGELS.Gods & Generals presents (son)Jeff Shaara's telling of the opening drama of the Civil War. Narratively it commences with Robert E. Lee's refusal to accept command of the Federal Army of the Potomac and his subsequent appointment to command the Army of Northern Virgina (effectively CinC of the Forces of the Confederacy). Focus of the film however is the character and legendary "battle bearing"of General Thomas, STONEWALL,Jackson.Magnificently played by Stephen Lang(who essayed the role of Gen.George Pickett in GETTYSBURG)Jackson is presented--with historical accuracy--as a complicated religious fanatic; superb field commander; loving husband;sometimes brutally authoritarian (political & military)martinet.Like Joshua Chamberlain(again well played by Jeff Daniels)roles preceeding and executing defense of Little Round Top on the decisive second day of Gettysburg; Lang/Jackson provides human focus to this film's epic sweep. Dramatically...as critical viewers correctly note...the film "begins" slowly. (So did America's Civil War: it was about 60 years in incipience/eruption).Yet,the climactic BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG(Dec. 13, 1862) wherein the Union suffered a staggering loss (similar to carnage later to occur at Gettysburg)of 13,000 soldiers in one of the most futile(and heroic)infantry assaults in annals of modern warfare certainly answers cinema dilettantes who insist the fim is "boring". The fact is Director Ronald Maxwell has produced a powerful film that serves as tribute to courage and should be sobering in its impact about our most terrible war. The cast is generally excellent with many players reprising their roles from GETTYSBURG (Bruce Boxleiter does a fine job with his cameo of General James Longstreet, first played by Tom Berenger). Brion Mallon does a fine reprise as Gen. Hancock who predicts catastrophe for the Union because of commanding General Burnside's failure to exploit his advantage "waiting" for the pontoons leading to subsequent slaughter of Federal Forces at THE STONE WALL and MARYE's HEIGHTS. For the historically unaware,the accidental killing of Stonewall Jackson (May 2, 1863) by his own troops (following his incredible/daring rout of Hooker at Chancellorsville)is "the end" of the movie. For the informed, it seems The South has lost its greatest combat leader(superior even to Lee)presaging the insurmmountable defeat at Gettysburg two months later. Unfortunately, GODS AND GENERALS is not a movie for "everyone". Though it could/should be.It does require a bit of patience(and gratitude?)to appreciate what the Director and this company have achieved as testimony to American Courage and Honor.That cynics cannot "see" this says nothing about the film and much about themselves.THE LAST FULL MEASURE is proposed to cinematically complete the Shaara Civil War Trilogy. Hopefully Ted Turner and the Hollywood Powers will support this epochal contribution to art and history.(4 & 1/2 stars)
Rating:
Summary: The Most Historically Accurate Civil War Movie Ever Made!
Review: Maxwell hit the nail on the head with this one. The antebellum south and war-torn U.S. were captured perfectly and the performances were awesome. I read the other reviews and you have to be an atheist or historically illiterate to not give this movie the highest rating! Some of these reviewers would probably give "Dumbass, the Movie" a much higher rating! I'm not particularly religious, but the religious fervor in the movie was very appropriate. Stonewall WAS extremely devout and so was Lee (though Roger Ebert apparently wasn't aware of this fact). Lang's portrayal of Stonewall Jackson was award-winning and even a bit eerie - if you've seen a photo of Stonewall the resemblance is amazing, even to the piercing eyes. Duvall as Lee was also a vast improvement over Sheen's puffball performance in "Gettysburg." As for the shallow blasting by some critics of the age differences between some of the returning stars of both movies, I believe the book, "Gods and Generals" was released after the the movie "Gettysburg" so it would have been quite difficult to have the same actors look younger than they did a decade ago. Concerning the length, the injection of the Battle of Antietam, though historically important, would have either meant removing another vital element of the film or adding another hour or so, thus really making those poor marshmellow-butts whine! Personally, I found it very satisfying to watch "Gods and Generals" at the theatre and immediately throw the longer "Gettysburg" into the DVD player when I arrived home. If these two movies are any indication of the last installment, "The Last True Measure" will be a fantastic piece of film-making.
Rating:
Summary: TOO MUCH TALK AND NOT ENOUGH ACTION!
Review: The War for Southern Independence, aka The Civil War, is one of my passions. I own over 200 books about the conflict, most published between 1860 and 1899 and written by the people who were there. I know the real causes, the politics, the battles, the geography, and the major officers on both sides of the conflict. Therefore I couldn't wait to see this movie. Even though our local reviewer complained about too much talking, I decided to go anyway. I left two hours later at the intermission. I overheard one woman asking another "Did these people pontificate like this all the time?" TOO MUCH TALK None of the dialog in this movie was simple or direct. Every time someone spoke it was a speech, sermon, poetry reading, a bible reading, or all of the above. They even had one slave quoting Napolean and another reciting a long biblical passage in perfect English, only to fall back into black dialect immediately after. AND NOT ENOUGH ACTION Most of the battle scenes looked like what they were; namely, shots of people re-enacting battles. Some were better than others but nothing like what you saw in Brave Heart or Private Ryan. You would see a lot of people fall while marching up the hill, either from rifle shots or cannon, but then when the battle was over and you were shown the field, there weren't that many bodies on the ground. There was no real sense of the horror of battle like you get with Kurasawa's movies for example. I was very disappointed in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful Epic For Man Kind!
Review: Gods and Generals is truly the other side of the historical coin. The flags at the beginning of the movie I thought were a great touch of showing that the Civil War was really a war between the states. The movie was very graphic and powerful. I remember thinking the first 5 minutes of the movie that Mr. Maxwell had guts to make this movie. Then about halfway through the movie I started thinking how much Ted Turner has done for the restoration of films and history. I admire Mr. Turner for the financing of this film even though the prospect exists of losing money due to the historical/political subject matter of the film. The movie is a true historical masterpiece while giving tremendous insight into the Southern belief of independence. I thought Robert Duvall did an excellent portrayal of Robert E. Lee. I still believe Lonesome Dove is his best work. I like Martin Sheen but Duvall projected a strength that Sheen was unable to demonstrate in Gettysburg. Mr. Lang as Stonewall was just incredible. He played him I believe perfectly demonstrating great passion between being a pious man and a blue eyed killer. Mr. Lang's performance was able to bridge Jackson's beliefs of God and War by events of scripture. His belief in God allowed him to be the great leader in battle he became. This is kind of a paradox in itself if you think about it. I will be disappointed for Mr. Lang that his Oscar caliber performance will go unrecognized due to today's social sense of political correctness. I can't wait for the next installment. I hope the DVD comes out within the next year.
Rating:
Summary: The Stone Wall Jackson Movie
Review: A very, very good movie ( as far as it went,),but too much fron the book was left out. The Chancellorvile attack was riveting. I felt that the "gods of war" had been un-leashed. Pickett turned Jackson ( Stephen Lange) did a masterful job. I don't think J.L.Chaimberlain was that chubby in his early years. If "The Last Full Measure" - the third and final book in the trilogy -is made, then dieting is recommended ( As I recall from the book JLC is a major character. DuVall is a much better R.E. Lee than Sheen.
Rating:
Summary: 2nd greatest Civil War movie ever
Review: The only Civil War movie that is better is Gettysburg. The movie informs its audiance on why there was a war, not slavery but states rights. Great battles sceens the best were those of the Battle of Fredricksburg. I wish the movie would had followed the book closer and given greater insight into Generals Lee, Chamberlin and Hancock. Can't wait for the DVD which I am sure will have added footage with these generals and bring it more in line with the book.
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