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Oct 04, 2020doyoureadme rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Roger Deakins deserved his Oscar for best cinematography. The camera work, special effects, and especially the lighting are all top notch. The editing of the film gives us a narrative presented very nearly as a single take, however that strength is in a way also the film's weakest point, turning it into the equivalent of a first person shooter video game. Each sequence is nothing more than a setup for the next scene, where the protagonists win points for conquering an obstacle and then move on to the next challenge. There is no intellectual engagement, no character development, no worthwhile dialogue, no historical accuracy. Mendes seems less interested in the honest presentation of the actual horrors of war than he does in visual spectacle and emotional manipulation. Billing this movie as "one of the best war films of all time" is a lot like Trump billing himself as "a very stable genius". And as a final insult, the special features at the end of the DVD are so saccharinely self-congratulatory, they should only be viewed after taking a large dose of antiemetic medication.