Enemy At The Gates is a very good film about two snipers who go head to head and play a game of cat and mouse. During The Battle Of Stalingrad, a young Sniper makes a name for himself by having multiple enemy kills. Judd Law gives a splendid performance as Vassilli Zaitsev, who became a hero during the war. Enemy At
The Gates is not flawless but it sure is very entertaining and is one of the better war films. There are things that could have been changed. For example, the love story could have been omitted. Ed Harris delivered the best performance of the film, and I find him to be a great actor. A thing that I found great about the film was that it was set during the turning point of the war, because as we all know; the Battle Of Stalingrad was the first of many defeats of Nazi Germany. It's obvious that Hollywood took some creative liberties to make the story more appealing for the general public by including a love story, despite that fact it doesn't revolve constantly around that. Unlike other "war" films who've played out on the love aspect and downplayed on the war factor, very much like the Paul Gross travesty, Passchendaele and Michael Bay's Pearly Harbor. I guess the love side of the film is to give the characters a little more development and show a hopeful side to the end of the conflict, and unlike many films who've done that and failed, Enemy At The Gates is pretty good at limiting corny love scenes. The result is a flawed but very good film that is very entertaining to watch because the Battle Of Stalingrad was epic, and watching these two Elite snipers is very intense and thrilling. Enemy At The Gates is a fine war film, not accurate but very good. Also the fact that they don't overdo the love story is a big plus, and the film isn't another Passchendaele or Pearl Harbor. Enemy At The Gates should be seen as entertainment, and it is a well acted and solidly plotted film.
October 21, 2010
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