Reviews

Did anyone read the book??? Obviously the film-makers only read the outline of the Cliff Notes version. Disney & Stanton had a chance at a potential real gem and blew it. They ripped the guts out of the story. I am getting to really hate movies that are "based upon" or "inspired by" a great piece of literature. If you can come up with a better story and presentation - great - I am all for it. But this movie seemed like an assigned project in college that just had to get done even if done badly.

Even all of the reviewers I read did not comment on the differences with the book. Many of the negative reviews did comment on the lack of dialogue and the poor acting. Also the romance between the main characters was not believable precisely because the great dialogue and interplay was left out.

To all of those reviewers who are looking for the dialogue, the character building, and even the action - I say, go read the book. It is all there. That is why this movie angers me. The film-makers had great source material but did not use it. This is a sad commentary on the film-makers of today.

I watched this movie because I like Burt Lancaster and I like war movies. Mr. Lancaster brings his usual quiet, dead-pan, face the facts characterization to this project. It also contains the talents of Peter Falk and Bruce Dern. All do admirably well with the parts they are given to play. However, this was 1-3/4 hours of pointless drivel. I think the underlying theme may have been the pointlessness or insanity of war, but even that was done so poorly I wonder. This was more a slap-dash of scenes that could have been parts of a better movie. As the movie ended, I was left thinking, "What a waste" on multiple levels. The story was pointless, never went anywhere. It was a waste of good acting; it was a waste of potential; and a waste of my time.

This was one of those rare sequels that I liked better than the first film. It is a romantic comedy that may not appeal to everyone, but I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. Also, the "adult" talk was handled in such a comical way as to make this film quite acceptable as a fun family film. I gave it a 10.