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Enemy at the Gates
(Reviewed March 3, 2001, by James Dawson)
-
The human-interaction scenes in this movie are kind of weak, Jude Law's character is never given any depth whatsoever, and the love story just is not a good fit at all. But the war scenes, sniper stalkings, and shots of citywide devastation in this film are incredibly well done. "Enemy at the Gates" is like two movies in one; as if an amateurish and schmaltzy director handled all the dialog scenes, while a seasoned master shot the action-and-suspense stuff.
The setting is Stalingrad during the World War II German siege. Jude Law is a naive Russian draftee who just happens to be mighty damned handy with a rifle--so handy, in fact, that the Germans dispatch their own master sniper to eliminate him. The German marksman is incredibly well played by Ed Harris, who manages to be coolly deliberate without ever seeming inhuman.
Here is the best way to describe how great the settings are in this movie. Remember how cheesy the final scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" looked--as if everything had been shot on a single backlot cul-de-sac? In "Enemy at the Gates," it honestly looks as if an entire city has been laid waste for the production. In one amazing scene, Law and Harris stalk each other in a bombed-out multi-level department store with one of its sides missing. That would be eye-opening enough, but when they see German bombers flying toward the building's open side, you'll feel like "ducking and covering."
A powerful movie with stark images of man's good old inhumanity to man that will stick in your mind long after the sticky taste of schmaltz has faded from your mouth.
Back Row Grade: B-
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