| Enemy at the Gates |
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| Rating: Poor Distributor: Paramount Pictures Release Date: March 16th, 2001 (wide) Running Length: 2 hours, 5 minutes MPAA Rating: R Genre: Drama, War, Romance, Historical Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Cast: Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, and Bob Hoskins. |
| picture above from www.enemyatthegatesmovie.com |
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| Plot: Enemy at the Gates takes place at Stalingrad, in World War II. The Russians are defending a vital, and symbolic city, from teh Germans. The story is told through a battle of two sharpshooters. Vassily Zaitsev (Jude Law), is a very effective, young sharpshooter who finds himself give enormous responsibility. Zaitsev's friend Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) makes Zaitsev a hero by writing about him constantly in his paper. However, both Zaitsev and Danilov find themselves in love with the same woman (Rachel Weisz), and their relationship becomes strained. Meanwhile Zaitsev draws attention from the Germans, and a highly skilled, heavily experience sharpshooter (Ed Harris) attempts to hunt down Zaitsev. |
| Critique: Enemy at the Gates is a tedious, and overlong motion picture. Its characters are paper thin, and its execution lacks any tension or dramatic power. Although it displays a talented cast, the actors are given little space. Subsequently, in the end they are overpowered by the terrible script. The characters are not written with any unique or interesting characteristics, and the interplay is impersonal and vague. Enemy at the Gates should have been a good film, as it had a promising premise. However, the film is weak; it derives no emotion from its audience. It's a bland and predictable picture. This film is a major step back for director Jean-Jacques Annaud, who crafted a stunning motion picture in his last outing. The film was Seven Years in Tibet, and it was created with quiet eloquence. It had personal aspects that drew in the audience, and it was not difficult to be submerged in the film's mood and tone. In 'Gates' there are signs of artful restraint, but they are muffled by a story that is painfully unengaging. Furthermore, the film's two primarily conflicts, the sharpshooter rivals and the love story, are not entertaining or fulfilling. The conflicts feel unfinished, and the script desperately needs some energy, flair and spice. The dialogue is the most atrocious aspect of the film. Every word uttered by the characters is unintelligent and unconvincing. Enemy at the Gates is an unengaging, overlong film, with awful dialogue. The material is weak, and provides neither entertainment, nor satisfaction. I do not recommend this film. review by supernothingman |