Flags Of Our Fathers Review

First off let me state that I wasn't very excited for this movie. Eric was posting things about the trailer and people had been talking about it like it was going to be the best movie of the year before anyone even saw it. I watched the trailer about a month ago and yeah, it was good, nothing I was dying to see, but I knew I eventually would. Somehow, things happened at work where I ended up getting today (Friday) off. I really wanted to see The Prestige but couldn't (Nicole wouldn't have been able to see it because of work and I also wanted to get farther in the book before I saw the theatrical version) so I went to see Flags Of Our Fathers. It starts off with getting to know the soldiers a little bit before they go to Iwo Jima. A good thing to do because you want to be interested and care for these people before they put their lives at risk. Flags Of Our Fathers has the same problem as Black Hawk Down where there is simply too many people (many who look alike) and you end up getting a feel for the whole group of soldiers instead of individuals. What is nice about having some well known actors in movies like this is that you're able to say "Oh hey, that's Paul Walker. I know him. What the hell is he doing in this movie? Who cares? At least I will be able to pick him out in a later scene and start to piece together what his character is about."
Not too long into the movie we see that three soldiers, Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford & I think Adam Beach (for some crazy reason imdb.com does not have a cast listing for this movie! I've never seen that before!) and they are being celebrated as heros. They are being cheered for but they don't look all that happy about being honored. We are then whisked away to Iwa Jima and that's when this movie is at its finest. They arive on the island and they start to think it is deserted. You start to agree, "Maybe there is no enemies on this side of the island." Then you see a gun come out of a bush, a canon out of the cliff, a person out of the ground and you start to feel very very anxious because you know these guys are walking into a trap. Once the shooting starts the movie really takes off in fantastic form. I am not a war movie connoisseur but this is the most cinematic, well crafted battle I've ever seen. It will draw a lot of comparisons to Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" opening scene, and rightfully so, but this is way better. There were scene's in Saving Private Ryan that people found hard to watch, namely when the soldier with one arm is looking around for his missing limb. There are scenes in this movie that are way worse than anything is "Saving Private Ryan" and the couple nasty scenes in "History Of Violence". It is really hard to watch and you can hear the crowd kind of gasp and shake their head in disbelief of some of the wounds that these soldiers received. The fighting is so intense and shot in such a way that I had a disguisted feeling in my stomach. Not because of the blood and guts but because of alll the horrible things that are involved in war. I watched the battle and wondered how anyone could come back home and be a normal/pleasant human being. There are things so awful that I can't image ever being able to forget them. Knowing this and watching this I found myself starting to cry. Even thinking about it now makes my eyes water. These people, who are so young, go out into what can only be considered hell and continue. They keep going on after they see their friend from their squad blown up, shot or disfigured. I just watched on YouTube the interview Ryan Phillippe had on CBS this morning and he said something very insightful. When asked about why these soldiers (or any soldier for that matter) nevered talked about what they witnessed in battle Ryan responded "For good reason. Why would you engage in a conversation about something so painful with someone who could never understand it?" The horrors that these people saw is so terrible that it is hard to watch and hear about but unfathomable to go through.
The movie goes on to switch from battle scenes to back home with these three men as they have to convince the American public to buy war bonds so that there will be enough weapons for soldiers to fight with to win the war. They are reluctant to be poster childs and deal with the guilt of leaving their troops behind so that they could come home and go "on tour". Adam Beach plays a Native American who seems to have the biggest problem with the guilt of this and drinks heavily to deal with it. There is a very touching scene where Adam meets the mother of one of the men who died after putting the flag up. He sees her, hugs her and then begins to sob uncontrollably.
I didn't have a problem with the story (except for unsequential flashbacks) until the last half hour when the movie turns to the author of the book "Flags Of Our Fathers" as he narrates what happened to these men after their "tour" to raise war bonds in America. Premier magazine gave this movie a 50 on metacritic and although I think this movie is better than that, there review sums up the film the best by saying that the last half hour with the author is "a jarring switch".
So, this movie is really good, but I wish it would have been more focused and didn't jump all over the place in the third act. Will it get nominated for best picture? You bet. And I believe it deserves to even though I think there are better movies out this year. There is talk about Ryan Phillippe and Adam Beach getting a nomination and they do a fine job but not Oscar worthy. The other soldier, Jesse Bradfield is played in a way where he comes off kind of cocky and to tell you the truth I'm not sure if that was how the character was supossed to be played. He had this sly grin half the movie where you just want to punch him in the face.
All in all, this is the longest review ever for any movie ever created, but there seemed to be a lot of stuff going on in this movie (sometimes too much). If you go see it I'm sure you will be moved by it, I just wish that the ending would have come sooner because the feelings you are left with would be even stronger.