Rating: 
Summary: Intense and smart
Review: This ia an intense and smart cat-and-mouse tale of two men - a Russian marksman played by Jude Law and a cold-hearted Nazi sniper played by Ed Harris - made heros by the necessity of war. The script makes a smart choice by focusing on the tale of the younger Russian, including his friends (Fiennes) and loves (Weisz) to make a more sympathetic character. By doing this and witholding the same character build-up of Mr. Harris' character (who gets due service by what the script does NOT tell us ... a good case of "less is more"). The intensity of the four lead performances, combined with real locations, a strong supporting cast, a strong script, a true story, and the solid directing job by Jean-Jacques Annaud makes for a very good film. It does not reach the heights of PLATOON or THE THIN RED LINE, but it is still an awfully good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: simply a bad movie overall
Review: what is this movie about?
-A history movie? but it lacks of the truth of history.
-A love story? but it lacks of characters. The characters are too simple.
What it's amusing is the Hollywood style bluffing.
Rating:
Summary: Drivel
Review: A film which is meant to dramatise the battle of Stalingrad. Naturally it is hard to portray a battle of the complexity of Stalingrad do that instead we focus on two snipers one Russian and one German trying to kill each other. The Russian sniper has been built up by their propaganda as a sort of superman and is somehow vital t the war effort. The German is a cunning professional from a military school. The film is however dreadful. One wonders why people make films which bear so little resemblance to the events they are portraying. After the disasters of the Kharkov and Kerch Penisula offensives the Russians fought the Stalingrad campaign cautiously. They held the city of Stalingrad with limited forces whist building up a huge counter attack on the plains surrounding the city. The Russians turned every building into a fortress and by staging counter attacks at night and using multi story building to negate the advantage of German tanks. The film however portrays the Russians as dullards mounting attacks in which massed infantry rush well entrenched infantry positions. Half of the Russians are not even armed. One wonders if the film makers ever read anything about the actual campaign or the mechanics of the fighting. The film is also anti communist, but the message of anti communism is at the intellectual level of a Marvel Comic book. Characters declaim how they once believed in setting up a classless society but now they realise how wrong they were. There is one scene in which soldiers retreating from an unsuccessful attack are machine gunned by their own officers. Another character with metal teeth describes how his teeth were hit out by a hammer as a punishment. The message is ham fisted, unrealistic and detracts from the flow of the film. The main character played by Jude Law is a peasant who did some shooting before the war. He develops quickly as a sniper because of his skills. It is noticeable that when stupid people write films they have problems in portraying peasants and working class people. This is no exception, Law plays his character as a sort of amiable simpleton. There is not sense that a person who is a peasant can have a sense of humour an intelligent grasp of his surroundings or even be cynical about his surroundings. Whilst the scenes devoted to the main characters Jude Law and Ed Harris are good, the rest of the film does not rise above tedium. The film is marred by its lack of historical accuracy, its preachyness and the cardboard nature of its characters. The only bright spot is Bob Hoskins playing Nikita Krushev as a Mafia Hood.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Sniper Movie
Review: This is one of if no the best sniper movie I've ever seen.A little week on the storyline but makes up for it during the action sequences.I recomend this movie to sniper and war movie fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Ah, what could have been....
Review: When I first heard about "Enemy at the Gate", I was intensely excited: one of my favorite directors (Jean-Jacques Arnaud, who produced such brilliant, intriguing, and engaging spectacles as "Name of the Rose", "The Bear", and "Seven Years in Tibet") helming up a film about a sniper duel in the ruins of Stalingrad during the darkest days of World War II. Leaving aside the question of who to root for (the Nazis or the Soviets, gee, great choice), I was giddy with anticipation: after all, the Eastern Front of WWII is an overlooked genre, even though most of the carnage occurred in the clash between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. The only war film to really deal with the horrific death-struggle between the totalitarian empires of Stalin and Hitler is "Stalingrad", Joseph Vilmaier's traumatic study of the effects of the chaotic Eastern Front on a squad of German troopers. What was most exciting about the prospect of "Enemy at the Gate", which deals with the same period, is the struggle between the Russian sniper Vasily Zaitzev (Jude Law) and his German counterpart and would-be assassin, Major Konig (Ed Harris). What could be better than a personal duel between two of the war's deadliest snipers, played out over the Ragnarokian fight between the war's two deadly evils? Ah, what could have been. "Enemy at the Gate," for all its excellent production value and directorial talent, stumbles badly. Some movies should be content to snuggle into their subject and remain there, and this is one of them. "Enemy" fails in that it tries to do too many things, and does all of them poorly. Jude Law plays Zaitzev, a young Russian sniper who rallies the morale of the battered Russian defenders of Stalingrad by harrying the Nazis in the ruins; Ed Harris plays Konig, the German sniper sent to kill Zaitzev and spare the Fuhrer embarrassment. Had Arnaud stuck to the intricate game of cat-and-mouse between the snipers, "Enemy at the Gate" could have approached sheer brilliance, and would certainly have been a classic. Lamentably, the movie throws in two other themes that eventually hobble the film: national politics (with Bob Hoskins wasted as a flatulent Nikita Krushchev), and a miserable love triangle between Zaitzev, a Russian woman adjutant (played by the ever-tasty Rachel Weisz), and a Russian officer Danilov (played blandly by the overrated Joseph Fiennes). It is simply too much for the movie to handle well, and distracts from the real conflict between the snipers. As a result, the love-triangle feels forced and pedantic; I found myself wishing that the hopeless affair would get resolved so we could get back to the action. When Arnaud centers on the duel between his protagonists, the movie is at its best---and in these sequences, filmed amid the smoking ruins of Stalingrad, the film delivers. But as Nietzsche said, 'one criticizes most accutely when one compares to the Ideal", and "Enemy at the Gate" could have been so much better. Because Arnaud forces us to skip back and forth between the sniper duel, the romance, and the political sequences, the sniper scenes themselves suffer, seem disjointed, and ultimately the duel itself gets lost in the shuffle. Think the final conflict between Harris and Law is going to be exciting? Think again; the final duel ends lamely and awkwardly, and Harris's character behaves in a way that is so totally out of character as to be unbelievable. There are some sensational moments in the film: the scenes of German Stukas dive-bombing Russian transports are horrific and brilliantly conceived, as are the harrowing sequences where ill-equipped Russian soldiers, unarmed, ran behind their comrades into battle, waiting for the man ahead of them to drop so they could use his weapon. Arnaud also gets the feel of bombed-out and gutted Stalingrad just right, and has made a perfect playground of death for his combatants. But far too many things are wrong with this film; Jude Law, an excellent and disciplined actor, plays Zaitzev with quiet and deadly dignity, but he seems bursting to be allowed to act. Harris, usually a solid actor, seems awkward with his role, and delivers his lines in a stilted voice. Ron Perelman, an old alumnus from Arnaud's "Quest for Fire" (where he played a Cro-Magnon), seems wrong given the tone of the movie, and it is almost a relief when he is shot. Ultimately "Enemy at the Gate" succumbs to its flaws, and is far more frustrating that it is satisfying. The viewer thinks back to the promising opening sequence, where a young Zaitzev sights a wolf through his telescope, and wonders: ah, if only the director could have let us see the war through the eyes of the two 'wolves' and their telescopes, what a satisfying film "Enemy" might have been.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sniper movie
Review: Enemy At the Gates tells the story of the battle of Stalingrad and more specifically a duel between a Russian and German sniper. There are several scenes which show the grand scheme of things in the battle and then it progresses to go deeper into the sniper part of the story. The duels between the two expert snipers are excellent putting the viewer right next to the action. The final duel is very well put together as well. Most of these scenes are very nerve wracking as we wait for the sound of the bullet to break the silence. While the duel is the better part of the movie, the performances are also very good. Jude Law is the best as Vasily Zaitsev, the famous Russian sniper. Ed Harris is his rival as the German major Konig, the sniper brought in to kill Vasily. Joseph Fiennes is also very good as the writer who makes Vasily famous by publishing stories about his exploits. Rachel Weissz plays Tanya, the love interest which was okay in the story but probably could have been left out. There are very graphic scenes of battle and also one scene with a "sexual situation" so beware. Excellent musical score by James Horner which adds to the mood of the duels. DVD is very good with plenty of extras for action fans. Excellent sniper movie with great characters even though they all have British accents when they portray Russian characters.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good, I would give it 4.5 Stars
Review: Enemy at the Gates is a very good movie. It is very graphic, and the ending quite frankly suprised me. Some of the special effects leave something to be desired, that is one reason that I could not give it 5 stars, particularly when they are crossing the Volga and the Stukas attacked. It looked pretty fake. When they get into the City and they are bombed, the special effects improved. Also my only other major complaint is that all of the actors spoke with English accents. I love English Accents, and the actors and actresses are great, so that balances the Accent Problem. I would definitely recommend this movie to any WWII fan, or any fan of War movies, which I am not, I hate war and this movie helps me appreciate the sacrifices that people make in times of it.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting footnote in the Battle of Stalingrad
Review: "Enemy at the Gates" takes place in Stalingrad during the winter of 1942 in a siege that would arguably turn out to be the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany in World War II. Failure to capture Stalingrad would deny the Nazis the oil supplies they needed to continue their drive onto Moscow or the Urals. Success would mean the eventual capture of Moscow and perhaps the collapse of the Soviet Union, thus allowing the Nazis to focus more of their resources onto one front only - against the American and British allies. Truly then, it is justifiable to say that the fate of the world rested on the beleaguered Soviet troops who were defending Stalingrad. This movie does not focus on the actual battle itself, but instead uses it as a backdrop to tell the story of two snipers who took part in the battle. Vasiliy Zaitsev, played by Jude Law in the movie, is a peasant from the Urals who is transferred to the sniper division after political commissar Danilov, played by Joseph Fiennes, witnesses him killing five Nazi officers with as many bullets. Gradually, through the efforts of Danilov's propaganda newspapers, Zaitsev develops a reputation for his sharpshooting ability to pick off high-ranking Nazi officers. Prompted by the demoralizing effect that this has on its troops, the Nazi high command sends in Major Konig, head of the sniper school in Berlin, to kill Zaitsev and neutralize the danger to German morale. At this point, the suspense increases as the two snipers stalk each other through the ruins of Stalingrad trying to find that one golden opportunity to put a bullet in the other's brain. The bombed-out ruins of Stalingrad which served as the backdrop for "Enemy at the Gates" is stunningly effective in convincing us that this battle was hell on Earth. Unfortunately, the movie failed to provide as much depth and detail to the development of the characters in the story. The foundations of the love triangle between Zaitsev, Danilov, and Tanya Chernova, played by Rachel Weisz, were so weak that I was not even aware of a conflict of interest until Danilov's schemings against Zaitsev were well under way. I felt no emotion for any of these characters, so the love triangle scenes gave me the impression of forced melodrama amid the more interesting parts of the movie. Nevertheless, the story of the legendary encounter between Zaitsev and Konig (whether it actually happened or not) makes "Enemy at the Gates" a good candidate for DVD night at home. The DVD also includes a theatrical trailer, two behind-the-scenes documentaries, deleted scenes, and a widesceen option. It's a shame that Paramount neglected to include a historical documentary on the actual Vasili Zaitsev.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: I don't know what it is about Jude Law that I love so much. He's a magnet for attention. When he's on screen you're only looking at him. Any movie he is in is bound to be good and this movie is GREAT! Forget about Pearl Harbor. If you want to see a good war movie with a love story watch Enemy At The Gates.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been better.
Review: Enemy at the Gates will give you a feeling for what the people of Stalingrad suffered through during the Nazi seige. The battle scenes are great. The cinematography is wonderful. The story line is a bit weak, but kind of interesting. The problem with the movie is that it does not follow the true story of Vassili Zaitsev. Agreed, this is a movie and the producers have the right to use artistic license, BUT, the true story of Zaitsev is even more fascinating than the movie portrays. I would encourage the viewer to explore the history of Zaitsev and the female in the movie, Tania Chernova. I assure you, it will amaze you! For instance, in real life Chernova was an American, a New Yorker of Russian descent (something you will not get from the movie). So, thumbs up for a good display of what war was like in Stalingrad and thumbs down for substituting a make believe story line for a true one that is simply astounding.
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