Simon Varley

Very well made, but ultimately too far removed form Remarque's original story. The film presents itself under the guise of the one of the finest books ever written about the impact of war on individuals, their friends and their families. The association is only skin deep. The film never captures the humanity, angst and suffering of a group of friends thrown from the classroom into armageddon. The film does capture the frantic brutality of combat in which every man simply fights for their life and nothing else. The film makers have added in additional dramatic and brutal violence, but for what purpose? The almost routine, banal barbarity and inhumanity of the war by 1917 is best reflected by the experiences, thoughts and conversations of the individual characters as they wrestle with the reality of being conscripts in huge armies where individuals count for nothing. Those experiences are at the heart of the book, but the film doesn't really set out to embrace them. The most poignant part of the original story is the period when Paul returns to his family home on leave - the film makers missed an opportunity to expose how this war really destroyed a generation, the individuals, the groups of friends and their families. I recommend saving your Netflix subscription and buying the book. The film leaves the heart of the book lying on the bloodied floor of the field hospital. This was one story that needed telling in several episodes. A format like Band of Brothers beats this film hands down.