Enemy at the Gates (2001)

A Disappointing Continuation

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

My top favorite "sniper" movies in the order are, 1) Shooter, 2) Enemy at the gates and 3) American Sniper. I am penning down this review after watching American Sniper. Enemy at the gates and American Sniper both are inspired from real events. The later gains more in its account by critics, despite being similar is maybe because of Clint Eastwood, the respect that he has earned through ages. When it comes to me, Enemy at the gates aces.It is shown how a Soviet sniper coming from a background of being peasant becomes a hero and inspiration for its people in war. It is also shown how a special sniper belonging to German army it's sent to take care of the business of our hero (Soviet sniper). It's shown how his colleague, a new found love interest and a child move into his (Soviet sniper) world during this war.Final verdict: What steals the show is the intense drama and the game of, hide n seek that goes on between the two snipers. It's worth adding to your collection.

"Enemy of the Gates" - Rumoured to be the most expensive European film ever made, Jean-Jacques Annaud's bloated Second World War epic is an audacious but no leaden rehash of "Saving Private Ryan", complete with a lot of flaws and historical inaccuracies surely but not as nearly as it's polyglot miscasting. A British-French-German co-production - Set in Russia but shot in Germany, this attempt to give the Battle of Stalingrad its proper due is commendable. But the director's decision to focus on a widely discredited Soviet anecdote is misguided and undermines the film's credibility from the start.With the Nazis set to achieve a major propaganda coup by overrunning the city that bears the name of their Russian enemy, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) arrives in Stalingrad to kick the demoralised army into shape. Intimidation only goes so far, though, so one apparatchik, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), suggests they find a hero to inspire the troops.That hero is Vassily Zaitsev (Jude Law), a peasant from the Urals who happens to be a crack shot marksman or a Sniper if you play a lot of X-Box, which is no surprise since we're looking at Russia, the largest size-wise country is filled with more of these Snipers than the ambition to actually kill. Danilov builds the unassuming Vassily into a legend, trumpeting his exploits to such an extent that the Germans send their best sniper, Major Koenig (Ed Harris), to take him down.What follows is a series of one-on-one confrontations between the two men at various locales in the bombed-out city, juxtaposed with an unlikely and insipid romance between Vassily and pretty Jewish soldier Tania (Rachel Weisz). The opening scenes of chaos are as accomplished as those in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winner, but unlike Saving Private Ryan, from then on Annaud is not all at sea or at war. In fact he ensembles a pretty decent directional approach and tension-full script along with solid performances from his British leads.While for a war film, it has no notable "extreme level brutality" on display or gores of Saving Private Ryan or any modern day slasher films as one might expect but it is nevertheless a must see for every fan of the genre.

This film will always have a place in my heart, a classic heroic tale, the hero fighting not for any real cause but because he must.He finds love and his enemy. his rise to glory is meteoric but he must face the enemy all is on the line his glory his love and his life.taking place during the great patriotic war(WWII, eastern front) the desperate cause of the USSR to beat back the tide of Nazism, men are forced to fight with meager means our hero is one of the grunts and by chance he lives and is brought out to the war effort as a hero than he fights the pressure and the feeling of his inability but he faces all challenges and faces great hardships.

I am not fan of war films. but Enmy at the Gate is real special. not a surprise for Jean Jacques Annaud. but an useful discover of the manner to present a delicate subject. sure, the love story, the friendship who becomes rivalry, the psychological battle between a simple peasant and a brilliant officer, the propaganda , the pink sacrifice of Danilov and the end are only ordinary, easy solutions for conquer large categories of public. but the revelation remains the performance of Jude Law, surely, too refined for a peasant for Ural but inspired for use the possibilities of a becoming star of propaganda, preserving his simple nature. the grace to build his Vasily Zaitsev is the basic virtue of film. the second good surprise is the Khrutchev of Bob Hoskins. sure, the Stalingrad is far by the sketch from this film. the Soviet regime, suggested in few traits, are profound different by the image from Enemy at the Gates. but it is not a documentary. and the title, who reminds Hannibal in front to Rome, has the gift to define the universal significance of the story.