Rating: 
Summary: Only people who use their brain enjoy this movie!!
Review: Funny how most of those who hated the movie say that it is visually good...that is because they only watch movies for visual enjoyment. This movie is amazing unlike so many other bad war films (we were soldiers, pearl harbor,ect.) If you like using your brain and enjoy good war movies I highly recommend this film as well as Paths of Glory by Kubrick
Rating:
Summary: One of the most amazing movies I have ever seen!!!!!!
Review: Apparently everybody else reviewing this movie did not see the same movie I did. It is not a typical war movie. War does not look good and is not glorified. However, little judgment is also placed on the soldiers them selves. Malick allows the viewer to understand the true nature of the soldiers and there reaction to the madness of war.
In fact this movie has so much more to do with the struggle of the madness and pain in one person's mind then with war itself. It is about the need for spirituality, even in times of horror and pain. It is about finding a spiritual connectedness with all things and about what it means to be part of not just a human family, but a family of the world. Obviously, many have missed the point. But I must say that no movie that I have seen to date has ever affected me as much as "A Thin Red Line". It is a mesmerizing spiritual journey and look at the horrors of war and life. We should be so luck to have Hollywood makes more movies with such a skillful discussion of an individuals place in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: The Thin Red Line
Review: ... Clearly the message of this film is that war is bad. It is? Are you kidding? ... The movie does look very nice, the scenery. It is very artistic. Though bad art it is still art. For that I give it a star. . . . Nick Nolte's performance was commendable. The best part of the film is when he is shouting at his troops to take the hill. . . . So two stars for this horrible film with one brief, great performance.
Rating:
Summary: We were not whiners but Soldiers over there!!!!
Review: In this movie, the battle at Guadalcanal Island show our men as malcontent whiners who prefer to do other things like going AWOL to a island to live with villegers or of constant daydreaming of other things than being a soldier. Now my Dad was in that very battle against the Japanese and after he watch this movie, he was disgusted at how the movie depict our men as morally weak, which in reality was NEVER the case. We were solders back then with only one thing in mind, to protect our freedom and our country against those who had attack us in Pearl Harbor which many of them had not forgotten. And neither should we. My Dad was fighting with honor with our fellow soldiers who felt the same way and if any of our people acted like a coward or whine like a baby, then we would not had lifted a finger for them. We do not appreciate those over there wearing a uniform on our side who do not wish to protect our country and people back home but rather do other things like the character Jim Caviezel was playing. Hey, this movie does have nice visual of the surroundings huh? ...So what, it show us as something we were not. Now if you want to see a true account of how we really fought in a battle, check out 'We Were Soldiers', which my dad had saw and highly recommends for every American to watch. My Dad wasn't at Vietnam but he was over there in battle fighting hard for us and our freedom which I am very proud of. Thanks Dad for everything you and our men had done. Keep in mind, that many of our men were killed over there fighting for our freedom.
Rating:
Summary: Ponderous and Overlong
Review: I suppose defenders of this film will call it "art", which immediately places all opinion in a dangerous pridicament. Since no one has successfully defined "Art" in the 4,000+ years humans have been making it, labelling something "art" is almost an escape hatch for those who can't face up to a work's very real shortfalls. And this film has many shortfalls. First off, this is not a film about WWII. It's about Vietnam. I don't believe for a minute that every American soldier in WWII acted like the self-centered whiners we see in all Vietnam epics. Hollywood will never get over Vietnam; they don't want to - it makes too much money for them. So, the thematic premise - all war is evil and all evil is war - is flawed right out of the gate. The filmmaker has nowhere to go but to drive the film straight into obscure mysticism. The film *is* grogeous to watch, and I found the images compelling. For that matter alone I couldn't give it one star. The music is lush and beautiful (I'll probably buy the soundtrack), and I found some of the more etherial moments very haunting. The problem is, there are too many of them and they are too long. About 1:45:00 into the thing I got a little weary of the first-person sermons on the nature of evil.... You'll find yourself watching the clock as you watch this one. It's unfortunate, because the filmmaker's strong technical skills are wasted on a preachy leviathan. One hour of this film could easily have been left on the cutting room floor.
Rating:
Summary: Hate to think? Then stick with Ryan and Platoon.
Review: Oh my gosh! A war film that doesn't: A. Make us cry B. Make us want to pick up a rifle and join the army C. Make us shout, "hoora" as we watch yet another glorious blood and guts scene featuring the noble aspect of honor, duty, and sacrifice. What will we ever do?!? I know, maybe we should try thinking for the first time in our lives when we watch a film. How 'bout that? This film doesn't focus on the glamor or the spoils of war. It strays from the glorious charge, the valiant assault on the hill leading to a splendid celebration in the ranks, the bronze medals or silver stars. No, it doesn't do those things at all. Instead, we get to see a very diverse group of characters, from a dreamy private who sees the good in all to a cold hearted Colonel who wants nothing more than to earn another rank. We see the vast diversity of all the many types of men who embody a soldier. When there are death scenes we do not cry. We feel a total lack of emotion and feeling. In that way, Malick does a wonderful trick, bulldozing all the war movie cliches that have become common practice in mainstream Hollywood. We feel the total lack of feeling that many veterans today feel. At one point, a character states: "War don't enoble men, it turns 'em into dogs." The idea here is that war, in and of itself, is like choosing poison. To kill for the sake of good is still the shedding of blood. This idea if further demonstrated when Caviezal's character stares at a dead Japanese soldier, imagining what the soldier might be saying. The dead soldier states: "Are you loved by all? Know that I was too. Do you imagine your sufferings will be less because you loved truth, justice?" And again, while the soldiers are invading a Japanese camp, we here yet another thought from Caviezal's dreamy character stating: "This great evil, where's it come from. From what root, what seed was it planted? Who's doing this to us? Who's killing us? Do you walk in this night too?" Skeptics will quickly brush off such poetry as mere rhetoric. I beg to differ. Such ideas are solid measuring points on humanity, the idea of evil, and the idea of war. After all, where do morals derive from? One man's good is another man's evil and the common evil in this film appears to be war itself. This film is not for everyone but it does convey some powerful statements throughout the 3+ hours of viewing time. Take note: if you enjoy thinking films, this will suffice. There are no clear cut ideas here, but more of a search as you go feeling. By the time you've seen it(twice might be necessary), your ideas of war, morality, and the classic concepts of duty, nobility, and honor might not be the same anymore. I give this film an A+ for actually taking a stand and sticking with it, even though Saving Private Ryan lovers, classic skeptics, and "color it for me" movie lovers blast it left and right.
Rating: 
Summary: The Thin Red Snoozer
Review: This movie is Boooooooooriiiiing! It doesn't even feel like you're watching a war movie. One reviewer described it as a "National Geographic Special." I'd have to agree with him. Plus, weren't we defending the island from the Japanese? In the movie the Americans are the invaders. If you want to see what combat against the Japanese was like, check out Windtalkers. It is a much more accurate depiction of war in the south pacific theatre.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly long, boring and historically incorrect
Review: I think my title says it all. This one is in bad need of editing. The action is few and far between. I wonder if the director knows that the old "I'm a traumatized soldier who has gone insane" thing was done to death in the 80's? And Japanese soldiers who give up at the first hint of danger? Nothing could be farther from the truth about these guys. Ever heard of the code of Bushido? The Japanese soldiers were notorious for not surrendering. They would rather die than be taken alive. Many of the actors, such as George Clooney, have very small roles. There is one decent part of the film where an artillery observer calls in an artillery strike, but that's about it during this three hour monster. The other 178 minutes or so are so boring that you'll be lucky if you stay awake. A large cup of coffee is a must with this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Genre-breaking war film
Review: Funny how your opinion of a movie can change on second viewing. I really disliked the Thin Red Line at first: I abhored its pretension, its indulgent poetical flights and its obvious war-is-bad imagery. I must have had a bad day. The Thin Red Line is a po werful anti-war statement that manages to combine blood, horror, beauty and poetry - all at the same time ( a difficult juggling act)! There is some gung-ho, courtesy of a vein-bulging Nick Nolte) but it is tempered by a focus on how war affects people, a nd shows how, regardless of the group nature of combat, everyone is essentially fighting their own battles. There are impressive acting performances from Sean Penn, Jon Savage, Ben Chaplin and Elias Koteas (among others), while Nick Nolte does lots of sho uting and John Cusack is, er, John Cusack wearing an army uniform. The Thin Red Line is different from most other war movies because it doesn't only cater to masculine sensibilities (like Saving Private Ryan, for example, or Black Hawk Down). The battle sequences are tempered by the soldiers' own philosophical and spiritual reflections. The film also finds time to focus on the development of relationships between the various protagonists.
The Thin Red Line a very good movie indeed in which the supporting actors steal the show and where interesting perspectives on war are offered. Just goes to show how all good movies should be seen at least twice.
Rating:
Summary: One of the finest movies made
Review: Ok, so its no traditional war film. There is no central goal to the whole movie and characters/actors rush to the top with some living and some dying. This movie is about men, life, love, pain, hatred, compassion, war, and every other issue people deal with in their lives. While there is not much plot, the dialoge revolves around several "main" characters who build bonds and deal with the horrors of war in their own ways. You see the pain they face either sending men to their deaths, being away from the women they love, or just being trapped in such a beautiful place for all the wrong reasons. The movie is acted out well, filmed in such a breathtaking style, and touches on such universal issues and truths that it still amazes me that people didn't like it. Its not conventional or all that easy at times, but it is touching and amazing. All of this touchy feely stuff is set to the backdrop of amazing, suspensful battle scenes that make your stomach drop... not for their violence or graphic nature but because you don't know what will happen next. You're placed there with these men. A must have and one of the best movies of the past few years!
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