Rating: 
Summary: Solid movie - not perfect, but says a lot!
Review: This is a movie custom-made for Civil War buffs. Someone headed out for a quick hour & a half of fluff is not going to want to choose this one!It is long, with large snatches of preachy dialogue. It also totally dismisses large areas of the war: the Penninsula campaign, Second Manassas, and (very surprisingly) Antietam. Just as surprisingly, it pretty much drops any reference to Jackson's Valley campaign. This is a bit much, seeing as Jackson is THE major character in the film. But I suspect that the producers, having such a LARGE canvas to paint, had to make some choices, or the movie would be eight hours long instead of almost four! The acting: sometimes it can be a bit stiff, to be sure, but it was engaging. Robert Duvall? Let's be honest, how can you go wrong! He did a very fine job as Robert E. Lee. Stephen Lang as Jackson? I was less than optimistic here, seeing as Lang had already played Pickett in 'Gettysburg'. I'll tell you, though - he nailed it. Jackson was, to say the least, a peculiar individual, and Lang carries that very well, while keeping Jackson human and believable. Jeff Daniels is always good, and his Chamberlain is as good as he was in the last film. Some of the supporting parts were well done, also. Brian Mallon will forever be Hancock; he really shows the man's tenacity and strength. Matt Letscher was a surprise - his Ames was very well-done. You're not going, 'Oh, yeah - the guy from 'Good Morning, Miami!' A very memorable moment in the film, when he turns with an exasperated, 'WHAT?!' at the Stone Wall - to find one of his soldiers with an arm blown off, asking permission to retire from the field. They take some liberties with history: the reference to lemons with Jackson (What? No reference to black pepper and his leg?), the historical timing of some of the statements characters make, etc. All in all, though, a fine effort - I disagree with some of the film critics out there, who are riding this movie into the ground. If you know the basics about the Civil War, you'll be better served - it DOES cut back and forth, place to place, character to character. But again, it's a very ambitious project here! And even if you don't know, you'll at least be able to follow Jackson's story well enough. If you DON'T know anything about the period, you'll be surprised by HIS story arc! And it's true! One last comment: the score. First, I'm a soundtrack hound, so, yes, I picked it up before the movie came out. It's beautiful, well-done, a very fine companion to the film. It does nothing but add to the film as a whole. Actually, it's playing right now as I write this ('Too Much Sugar', at the moment!) A good, solid movie about a very important part of US history.
Rating: 
Summary: Less than engagaing....
Review: The trailer and the storyline looked great. I am both a Civil War buff and a huge Robert Duvall fan. I saw this film last night and the biggest problem I had with this movie was that it was hard for me to become involved with the characters. We saw men leaving thier families, but we didn't see how that directly impacted that family, either from an economic or social standpoint. We knew that brothers fought against brothers and friend against friend, but we didn't get to see who those people were and how it impacted thier lives. However it seemed to me the biggest problem with the film is that it seemed to breakdown into a storyline of speech-battle-speech-battle,etc. Even when there intimate conversations between husband and wife, that also seemed to turn into a speech. The special effects were less than convincing. Glory still remains the best Civil War movie for me.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous movie for a niche market- spread the word!
Review: First off, let me start with the NEVERS...
1. Never make a "prequel" 10 years after the "sequel" and try to use the same actors.
2. Never make a "prequel" after a well loved sequel without using the same actors.
3. Never EVER make a CW movie without Stephen Lang. Now that that's out of the way- definately see this movie if you have any interest at all in US history, romance, faith, big guns or epic stories. While it may seem stilted and badly done to certain peawhit reviewers (who most likely never read the book) this film accurately portrayed the book "Gods and Generals" Ron Maxwell has done it yet again- pulling together a Cecil B. DeMille cast of thousands and melding them into a great movie. Casting Stephen Lang as Jackson was indeed a coup. There are those who would argue that since Pickett was in this movie as well as Gettysburg, that he should have stayed in that role. However, his talents would have been wasted. Plus, it was neat to see Billy Campbell again on the big screen. My only real disappointment was the casting of Bruce Boxleitner (forgive the spelling) as Longstreet. While I do like him very much as an actor, I just don't think he had the brooding darkness that Longstreet possesed and Tom Berenger so ably portrayed in "Gettysburg." It was interesting to see actors reprise their roles 10 years later. A little more grey here, a few more pounds there, a few less in some cases. I imagine though, if you haven't seen "Gettysburg" a hundred times it won't make much of a difference. Bottom line- go see this movie. It doesn't deserve the lousy "professional" reviews, and it doesn't deserve a quick box office death.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Pay Attention To The Reviews.
Review: So Roger Ebert doesn't like this movie because it doesn't have a black actor in a leading role, and the first black actor with a speaking part doesn't appear for 70 minutes....boo hoo hoo, Mr. Ebert, get a life. This is not a movie about slavery, it is about the men who fought the civil war. Also, many reviewers put down this movie because of its portrayal of blacks and the southern generals attitude toward slavery. I have news for them, if they would read their history they would find that the leading southern generals, Lee, Jackson, etc. were not fighting for the slave holders of the deep south, but instead to defend Virginia from Invasion. Another myth is the treatment of blacks in the south at the time of the civil war. Black slaves had a better standard of living than the average white southerner. They usually lived in cabins, were given food, medical treatment, and clothes. They were given 1.5 days off per week. Were allowed to visit other slaves on neighboring plantations. Were allowed to marry and practice religion. Some were allowed to hunt for food on their days off, and they were allowed to have dances. In addition, at the time of the civil war there were over 5,000 free blacks who owned black slaves in the south. Also, in New Orleans there were thousands of free blacks who were business owners. Many black slaves, especially the house slaves, were treated like family members. Very few black slaves suffered being whipped, tortured, or lynched because slaves were so expensive their owners could not afford to injure them. Thousands of blacks freely volunteered to fight for the south in the war. Also, 1 million Africans were enslaved by white
Europeans, while 10 million were enslaved by Arabs. Ebert and other reviewers point out the scene where Stonewall Jackson and a black slave pray together as one of the phoney parts of this movie. Obviously big fat Ebert has never read his history, because if he had he would know that Stonewall Jackson was extremely religious as were most black slaves in the south. There is no reason to believe that this scene could not take place. My only complaint about this movie is that I wish they had made the battle scenes a little more realistic. This was brutal combat, and the horror of it could have been conveyed better if the movie was more like Saving Private Ryan. Still, it is well worth watching, and certainly much better than reviewers like Fat old Ebert would have you believe.
Rating:
Summary: When Harry Met Romy
Review: I thought Gettysburg was too long. G&G is no exception. This movie could have easily been edited down to three hours. It's nearly four hour length is painfully long for a theatrical release. Seriously, I would have preferred to watch it on TV as a miniseries. In addition to this movie's enormous running time, G&G tries to cover too many people and events. It's as if Ron Maxwell tried to include every Civil War General in this movie regardless of their importance. Indeed, all of these needless cameos only detracted from the main characters. (It sort of reminded me of "The Thin Red Line" with all of the cameos). The other thing that bothered me about this film was its inaccurate uniform impressions. Most of the Confederate reenactors were wearing mid to late war period uniforms. Set between 1861 to early 1863, we should have seen a lot more frock coats. On a positive note, G&G had its moments. The Fredericksburg battle was the best part of the film. It included a very poignant scene where two Irish regiments (One North and one South) go up against one another. The little girl who befriends Stonewall Jackson was also a very touching moment in this film. In conclusion, this is not a bad movie. It's a good movie, but not great. Again, I believe this film would be more appropriate shown as a TV miniseries. It certainly had that sort of feel to it. BTW: My title to this review is in reference to Jeff Daniels ("Harry" in Dumb and Dumber) and Mira Sorvino ("Romy" from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion). I found it hillarious to see them in a movie together.
Rating:
Summary: Superb! Outstanding! Incredible!
Review: This movie was breathtaking! Lang was nothing short of brilliant as Stonewall Jackson. Duvall was terrific as Lee and Daniels again did a fine job as Chamberlain. The rest of the characters turned in great performances as well. For three and a half hours I felt as though I had been transported back in time. The battles were amazing and the silent march at Chancellorsville was stirring. I was moved beyond belief. This is a movie that will be remembered.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie - Go see it
Review: The critics that bashed this movie are out of their minds. Its a great movie. Especially if you are a history or Civil War fan. If you're not, this movie is a great place to start. Watch this movie and then go rent Gettysburg. Bring on the Last Full Measure!
Rating:
Summary: Balance!
Review: Gods and Generals was wonderful in that it depicted the civilians and women encompassing the men in blue and grey. I think the portrayal of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was "dead-on." The film succeeded in showing the emotions behind the uniform and for that depiction I applaud!
Rating: 
Summary: Sure cure of insommia
Review: I am bit amazed to see all these positive reviews of this film. I wondered if they saw the same movie as I did? Although I am a Civil War fanatic, I found the movie to be totally boring. It was an effort to stay awake. I thought the movie should have been titled "Stonewall Jackson" or something like that since most of the movie centered around this general. Stephen Lang who played Jackson, however, proves to be quite [inadequate]. Whether this was due to cutting room floor or the script, I am not sure but historically, Jackson was one of the most bizzare and eccentric characters of the war. This made him very controversial but there is none of this in the movie. Lang's protaryal of Jackson almost make him very normal and that was one thing Jackson never was. The film was definitely pro-south in outlook but there is nothing wrong with that. However, the speeches made in this film does make the southerners sound very pompous. Civilian scenes proves to be a total waste of time because they are cut-scenes with two diminsional characters with little or no depth. These scenes add to the boredom to the film. It was nice for the director to put in couple of black characters in the movie, if you like your black characters to be "Uncle Tom" type. The combat scenes was pretty limited. Only three battles were shown in the movie, First Manasas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Of the three, Fredericksburg was the showcase battle of the movie - and this was the most boring of Civil War battles. One of the battle scenes of Fredericksburg involves the role of the Irish, where the southern Irish were condeming the northern Irish. Funny that northern Irish serving in Union armies outnumbered the southern Irish in Confederate armies by what -- 7-1 or 6-1 during the war. Actually it was the southern Irish who were out of line with mainstream Irishmen in Civil War. (Beside, why should these southern Irish be shock? After all, Irish Brigade of the Army of Potomac played an important parts in other battles prior to Fredericksburg and found fame because of it. Not to say that while there were few Irish regiments in the south, there were several Irish brigades in the north!...) The other two battles were only touch lightly and centered around Jackson's role. Northern view point in this movie proves to be rather limited. So limited that it would be better if it wasn't presented at all. Jeff Daniels definitely looked older and fatter then his slim tirm fighting mode of ten years ago. Northern dialogue sound so much somber and reflective compared to the southern speeches although the film could have done without Daniels' Caesar speech. It took three and half hours to do justice to three days of Gettysburg. The same time cannot do justice to two years of the Civil War. This effort only cheapen the story and the characters. Worst, putting in the dull civilian scenes slow the movie down considerably and add nothing in return. This is the worst kind of history movies, a kind of movie that put a superifical light and pretend to convey what it cannot deliever. Only a hard core Civil War reader can sit through this movie without losing perception or understanding of what the filmmakers are trying to do. A casual movie goer will probably be lost and bore to tears by all the cross-cutting of [inadequate] slitted scenes and stories. (PS: For the nitpickers: Lee in 1861 didn't have gray hair or beard.)
Rating:
Summary: THIS HISTORICAL EPIC HAS IT ALL!
Review: "Gods and Generals," the greatest novel ever written about the American Civil War, now becomes the movie event of the year. Director Ron Maxwell ("Gettysburg") is able to tell the stories of the personal lives of the men AND the history of the events with a great balance. Stephen Lang IS "Stonewall" Jackson, in my opinion. And Robert Duvall's portrayal of Robert E. Lee single-handedly overshadows Martin Sheen's performance, even though Lee is featured much less in this one. Jeff Daniel's return as Chamberlain is awesome, especially as he quotes "Julius Caesar" as regiment-after-regiment marches over the pontoon bridges at Fredericksburg. True, he has gained a little weight, but this is the only shortcoming.
As for the length, the 215 Minutes pass by with a breeze. The battle scenes are grand and well-done. The recreations of First Manassas and Chancellorsville are great, but the recreation of Fredericksburg is, in my opinion, the best Civil War battle scene ever committed to film, complete with some fine visual effects.
The only problem people may have with the film is that it does jump around some, especially when the film jumps from July of 1861 to April of 1862, then jumps from April to December, 1862. This may confuse some people who never study history. However, I'm pretty sure that this shortcoming will be fixed when the six-hour "Director's Cut" rolls out on DVD later this year.
Overall, a masterpiece. And if you think this is good, wait for the six hour cut! It'll be even more incredible. Grade: A+
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