Review
If one thought the backlash against Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan was unwarranted, then it would be best to channel those negative feelings toward Jean-Jacques Annaud's crude, poorly cast World War II drama. Using Ryan as a primer for faux jingoistic wartime clichs, the film never makes the brutality of Stalingrad palpable on any sensible level, merely wallowing in mediocrity from one ill-conceived scene to the next. The casting is equally baffling, with Brits Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes playing Russians and all-American Ed Harris playing a German. The film may have paid off if any actor were properly suited to his role. As it is, the leads are not nearly commanding enough to convince as battle soldiers, and Harris fails to make his ruthless sniper much more than a stock villain. A few scenes have requisite suspense, but are quickly undone by the director's unsteady hand and the silly screenplay, which makes it nearly impossible to comprehend the characters' actions. The movie is reportedly the highest-budgeted European feature in history, due to its lengthy, violent scenes of combat, which also seem directly inspired by Spielberg's picture. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Synopsis
A turning point in 20th century war history is the focus of this fact-based account of the 1942-1943 battle of Stalingrad, in which the Germans were finally defeated by Russian influence -- one of the bloodiest battles in World War II history. The film stars Jude Law as Vassili, a marksman from the Urals who is transported to Stalingrad in 1942, and a master German sniper, Major Koenig (Ed Harris). Koenig, an expert German sniper, is determined to eliminate his formidable opponent by any means necessary; meanwhile, Vassili has joined forces with Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a young Russian political adversary, who is impressed by Vassili's skills and raises his profile in the Soviet Union. Both Vassili and Danilov become involved with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), whose Jewish parents have been captured by the Germans and have forced her to take up with the men on a sniper expedition. Koenig and Vassili begin to develop traps for each other, until fate inevitably must bring the two sharpshooters together. This large-scale production, financed mostly by Teuton companies, also features Bob Hoskins as Nikita Krushchev and Ron Perlman as an aging Russian sniper. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
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