July 1942. Soviet forces are retreating in the face of a massive German onslaught towards Stalingrad. An infantry platoon is tasked with holding a vital hill in order to give their comrades time to cross the Don River and regroup. The odds are stacked against them.
I had high hopes for this film, considering its IMDB rating and the plot summary. This seemed like it could be a very tight and gritty war movie, Cross of Iron or Saving Private Ryan-style.
It has flashes of that potential but for the most part it's not. The battle scenes are well done and do give you a feel for what fighting on the Eastern Front was like and the heroism and sacrifice involved. A few implausible situations and events but for the most part the battle scenes are great.
Unfortunately, the battle scenes are a small part of the movie. Most of the movie is the interactions between the soldiers outside of battle and here the movie is often quite clumsy and dull. Lots of inane dialogue that goes on forever and adds nothing to the plot, silly sub-plots. Heaps of padding: the film could do with some decent editing.
Hardly the tight plot I was hoping for.
I had high hopes for this film, considering its IMDB rating and the plot summary. This seemed like it could be a very tight and gritty war movie, Cross of Iron or Saving Private Ryan-style.
It has flashes of that potential but for the most part it's not. The battle scenes are well done and do give you a feel for what fighting on the Eastern Front was like and the heroism and sacrifice involved. A few implausible situations and events but for the most part the battle scenes are great.
Unfortunately, the battle scenes are a small part of the movie. Most of the movie is the interactions between the soldiers outside of battle and here the movie is often quite clumsy and dull. Lots of inane dialogue that goes on forever and adds nothing to the plot, silly sub-plots. Heaps of padding: the film could do with some decent editing.
Hardly the tight plot I was hoping for.