Terrence Malick directed and wrote the screenplay, and he's easily among my favorite filmmakers. A hallmark of Malick’s films is their dreamlike quality, and this one doesn’t stray far from that approach: many of the narration passages feel like fragments echoing within the characters' minds. There's a paradisiacal opening sequence featuring a soldier deserting and joining a Melanesian tribe, portrayed by Jim Cavieze…

The film offers a striking and visually impressive portrayal of the brutality of jungle combat. Jim Caviezel portrays "Witt," who is taken into custody while away on unauthorized leave by his Sergeant "Welsh" (Sean Penn) and held aboard a transport ship awaiting a military trial. Standard legal procedures are quickly disregarded when their unit receives orders to seize a key hilltop from a well-defended Japanese army…

This film feels affected, and frustratingly, its attempts at artistic presentation fail to convey a clear message. It seems less concerned with opposing war itself and more focused on criticizing efforts to halt the genocidal ambitions of Japan and Germany. It’s as if the filmmakers were trying to demonstrate their leftist beliefs so strongly that they inadvertently endorse the Axis powers simply because the alter…

This war movie isn't good, really. It seems likely—though I didn’t consult the book—that the novel and possibly even the initial script were excellent; however, Terrence Malick made a mess of things: there was no discernible direction, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, and it had an excessive number of jarring edits. I felt like giving up about halfway through, but my wife insisted on finishing it (almos…

Terence Malick’s The Thin Red Line generates as much discussion about its production history as it does the film itself. The director, who had previously made a significant impact in the Seventies, remained absent from filmmaking for two decades. His return in 1998 to direct this adaptation of James Jones's novel concerning the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II was met with considerable eagerness, drawin…