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The scale of the battles and the streets of war-torn Stalingrad are very impressive, but they don't supercede the fine performances from the central leads. Jude Law was perfectly cast as the hero sniper Vassili Zaitsev, and equally impressive was Ed Harris as Vassili's antagonist, Major Konig who is sent to Russia to kill Vassili. Fiennes is equal to the others, although his role as Danilov is much smaller, and Rachel Weisz's role as Tania is basically as the object of desire for the two leads. This seems to be the weak link, but the love triangle this serves up is too tempting to pass up, and serves to heighten the drama
The suspense hardly lets up as the hunter patiently and silently stalks his prey through the battle-ridden city. Tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, only relenting with the development of a romance between Vassili and Tania, somewhat a relief, depending upon your sensibilities. If you're looking for another "Saving Private Ryan", you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a rousing epic based on one of WWII's most important, yet baffling to me, one of the least-known events, then you won't be disappointed. An epic story of courage, friendship and romance against a backdrop of war-torn Russia, with battle scenes on a grand scale. Not to be missed.
My Rating: 8/10
