Tigerland (2000)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 11
A great cast and the gritty feel of the film help elevate Tigerland above the familiarity of the subject matter.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1
A great cast and the gritty feel of the film help elevate Tigerland above the familiarity of the subject matter.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 33,857
My Rating
Movie Info
A young man tries to fight the military system only to find it fighting back in unexpected ways in this hard-edged drama. In 1971, Roland Bozz (Colin Farrell) is a draftee who has been sent to the Advanced Infantry Training Facility in Fort Polk, LA, where with hundreds of other new soldiers he's to be taught a final course in combat skills before being shipped out to Vietnam. Bozz has no interest in going to war, and is determined to get sent home as a troublemaker. But his plan backfires; his
Oct 6, 2000 Wide
Dec 18, 2001
20th Century Fox
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Cast
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Colin Farrell
Roland Bozz -
Matthew Davis
Jim Paxton -
Clifton Collins Jr.
Miter -
Tom Guiry
Cantwell -
Shea Whigham
Wilson -
Russell Richardson
Johnson -
Cole Hauser
Sergeant Cota -
Jeff Hephner
McManus -
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Tigerland Trailer & Photos
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (12) | DVD (21)
This take on Vietnam War doesn't break new thematic ground but it's Schumacher's best film since the 1993 Falling Down, and it showcases the talents of newcomer Colin Farrell, who has everything that it takes to become a major Hollywood star
Top CriticStylistically this is more interesting and more affected than Schumacher's Flawless. Either way, it's a big improvement on his past tendentious nonsense.
Even when the script overtaxes the allegory about how Vietnam divided a nation at home, Schumacher and the actors prevail by fixing their sights on what happens to men on that last stop before the game of war becomes a grim reality.
A great army movie.
For those who don't mind being challenged, however, and are curious to see why Farrell is being touted as the next big thing, Tigerland has its rewards.
Tigerland lands squarely in the top tier of best movies about America's Vietnam experience.
I wouldn't put Tigerland in the top ranks of war movies, but it's a solid second-tier entry that makes you think about the characters.
Farrell is the best thing about the film, which veers into oversentimentality quite a bit for a film that's shot with such a gritty aesthetic.
Ever since Three Kings redefined just how great a war movie can be, movies like Tigerland have become unforgivable.
A talented newcomer with genuine presence, Farrell is able to suggest some complexity in a character that is written without any.
...never quite catches fire or becomes the searing expose that director Schumacher intended.
Farrell holds the film together as the one element that sets this a notch above the average military drama.
Tigerland will only reinforce one of the biggest complaints regarding Schumacher's work: that it's all about the look, not the material.
At best, Tigerland is not much more than a low-rated, cable-channel movie-of-the-week that should be channel-surfed right on by.
The hype is justified -- Farrell's performance just screams star quality and has already drawn comparisons with Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.
A worthy addition to the Vietnam War film genre.
...while intermittently entertaining and insightful, it does not make it into the higher echelons of great war movies.
Audience Reviews for Tigerland
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Roland Bozz: Courage is when you're the only guy who knows how shit-scared you are.
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Colin Farrell had his breakout role here, and, while he isn't quite able to completely hold the film up on his own shoulders, he's pretty good and definitely shows promising as a talented lead...even though his brogue does occasionally slip through his noble attempt at a Texan accent.
The plot is that of the typical rebel without a cause named Roland Bozz out to challenge authority. The setting is a training camp in Louisiana in 1971, and this particular camp has a reputaton for being brutal, as well as the last stop for many before being shipped to Vietnam. Bozz is very capable at being a good soldier, yet he'd rather spend most of his time farting around and doing his own thing, regardless of the consequences.
There's some other great performances from Clifton Collins Jr and Matthew Davis. Even Michael Shannon makes an appearance. The characters are little more than cutouts, and the actors playing drill sargeants are doing half assed and less effective R. Lee Ermey impressions, but like I said, this all kinda works.
Maybe it just has to do with Schumacher getting back to basics and working with a low budget and going for a less mainstream character study.
Yeah. I think it's that last one. Go check it out.