David Wu

Good as a war movie. Bad as an adaptation. The movie left out many, many important details from the book. The parts with the teacher Kantorek are left out, Paul’s training is left out, Himmeltoss is left out, Kat’s death is totally off. And probably the change that made me the angriest, Paul’s leave is left out. Remarque intended to convey the utter tragedy of the Lost Generation. How they were lied to with visions of glory and nationalism, and how the war completely destroyed them until they could no longer recognize their former lives. We do get glimpses of these messages, but the film focuses a lot on the bland “war bad cuz death n violence” through gory action scenes. Which isn’t bad, but doesn’t make this movie stand among a sea of anti war films. And don’t get me started on the ending. But overall, I enjoyed the film. Action sequences and cinematography are breathtaking. Acting is solid. The film does an excellent job depicting the cruelty of WW1. I found the diplomat interesting, even if it didn’t really contribute to the story. But it could’ve been SO much more if it stuck with the source material.