Everyman's War (2009)
No one in high command believed that German forces would attack in the sub zero temperatures and near blizzard conditions. As the pre-dawn attack comes, with communications down Sgt. Smith is left with no choice but to make his way through enemy fire, unarmed and wounded, into town and warn of the coming attack. Based on actual accounts "Everyman's War" explores the heroic events of this decorated veterans courage and the struggle between duty and desire. Between the prospect of the life and love, Dorine that waits at home and the harsh realities of war which marks the pivotal epoch in his life as he discovers that the loss of hope can be worse than the loss of life. One man's courage... One man's hope...Everyman's War.
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Reviews
It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
The movie has all the making to be a good or great movie, all the makings yet so very wide of the mark. I fail to see why there are so many reviews that are remotely positive about it.It is a real story and honors men that were there, but an experienced director might have saved the movie. The acting was unrealistic, stilted and sub-par; it was more like they are all doing a first time read through without even having seen the script prior.I have seen stage plays by 6th graders, videos made on cell phones on YouTube that had better acting and Videography.I do not think I should have even given it a 2, however the story idea at least deserved that much.
Hoped for more, a Band of Brothers type movie perhaps? Sadly no, the script was terrible & dialog was flat, contrived & generally cringe-worthy. The acting was amateurish & forced, no realism in the characters or in the delivery. I could barely watch in the end. The scene with the repeated cuts back to the same dead body was painful to watch. The action scenes were cumbersome & predictable, in fact its hard to imagine a poorer depiction of events. I didn't feel connected to any character portrayed in this movieProduction values were low and it shows, that doesn't mean that low budget should equal low quality cinema, but in this case it only adds to the general malaise. Not one for my tastes, missed by a mile.
While talking with my friends after seeing this movie I think that the best part of this movie is that they portrayed the regular German soldier as not the regular caricature evil German. Having friends from a German heritage they really apreciated that. Many of those guys that were in the regular forces did not want to fight but feared what would happen to them or their families if they did not. We all really liked that aspect of this movie. It was very moving to see the interchange between the US soldier and the German towards the end. I won't say anything more cause I don't want to give anything in the story away. We really liked it. It wasn't some Hollywood retelling reworking of history.
My wife and I had a chance to see this movie in Scappoose, Oregon at the world premier. There were fighting scenes, but all of the other elements that make a good film too. My wife never likes war movies! Oregon looked amazing! Watching something like this really makes you understand that there were stories like this happening all over Europe. It's important that movies like this are made because war will never be like it was back then. Kids today think of war as fighter jets and smart-bombs. They need to know how brave their great grandparents are and how hard the world has fought to protect liberties. Looking forward to the DVD release!