Natalie Davis

So. Boring. Please believe me. This show is so boring. Despite whatever inspirational, existential discovery themes we are supposed to be mind blown by, IT. IS. SO. BORING.

This was, and I mean this in all sincerity, the most boring movie I have ever seen. It took me three sessions over 2 days to get through it and honestly I dont even know why I persevered. Usually when a movie is this utterly uninteresting in the 1st 20 minutes I cut my losses. I just kept holding out hope that at some point in those 2 hours powerhouses Angelina and Brad Pitt who I absolutely love as an actor would pull off something...anything. Some intrigue. Some mysterious twist. Something dramatic or suspenseful. It. Never. Happened. Not one twist or turn in 2 hours. Nothing to bring this together and make it all worth it in the end. The best I can describe it is likening it to the feeling of going to visit my father's mother as a child. A cold, unpleasant woman who lived alone in a dark, dimly lit close apartment who chained smoked and had no affinity for children whatsoever. My father would take us there for an obligatory visit a few times a year. One time I saw 2 coloring books on her kitchen table. Thinking it couldn't be coincidence that there were 2 - one for me and one for my sister - I picked the one I liked most up and asked "Who are these for?" It was the one glimmer of hope the visit might turn out to be anything other than agonizingly dull. My grandmother snatched the book from me and said "They're for me!" So I spent the rest of the time twiddling with the glass grapes she had in a bowl on the coffee table, the only other thing she had that was even remotely interesting to a child, counting every endless minute, and relished when the moment came that it was time for us to leave.

I hate war movies but somehow ended up watching this one and I thought it was excellent. One complaint some people had about the movie is lack of character development. It's true, we don't see the typical pre-war story lines with scenes of young Johnny on the farm with momma and daddy and sister Susie or the hazy flashbacks of the beautiful woman left behind. We learn nothing specific about the characters' lives outside of this war, this tank and the jobs they are assigned within it. But there is enough development within these confines for viewers to learn to understand how the mix of tension, conflict, dislike, and also friendship, solidarity and intimacy all intertwine to create complicated and well-developed characters without the hokey homefront scenes usually contrived to tug at the heart strings - they aren't needed here. Brad Pitt is great as always but Shia Lebaouf is the standout in my opinion even though it seems like the young Norman is the character designed to capture the viewers' affinity. As mentioned there are no flashbacks or scenes of civilian life sprinkled in to breakup the war zone scenes. The entire movie is literally shot in war zones and active battlefields, much if it even inside the tank which seems like it would be monotonous or boring but you'll be surprised how engaging it is. It is definitely worth the watch.