Review – The Thin Red Line

I guess if I’d been in more of a mood for a ponderous war movie I might have been a lot more receptive to this particular offering. After all, I enjoyed Farewell to the King, which was similar to this film in more ways than just the appearance of Nick Nolte in both. As it was, I found the characters and plot insufficient to sustain nearly three hours of screen time. Most of the big-name actors appear in roles that amount to little more than cameos – I’m surprised they had the guts to plug the film with promises of appearances by John Travolta and George Clooney, both of whom were onscreen only briefly – leaving unknowns and semi-knowns to play the key parts. Though all do workmanlike jobs, the casting director put guys who looked too similar in several of the lead spots, making it hard to tell what was happening to whom, particularly in the heat of the battle scenes. Lots of little things fail as well, such as the throaty, Apocalypse Now-esque voice-overs and a lot of the special effects. Still, the film as a whole is better than many other war movies with bigger budgets, including contemporary release Saving Private Ryan. Mildly amusing