Review of Hostiles (2017) by Aw C — 03 Feb 2018
A decent, meaningful movie that delivers on the human side but squanders its dramatic tension far, far too early. As such, it ends up limping to the finish line. This movie does a very good job of portraying how the emotional and psychological costs of soldiering for an extended period of time.
...whittle a human being down. Bale and crew do a great job of expressing an emptiness and guilt (both survivors & moral) that hangs over every scene and gives it an unpredictable & unstable edge.
Still, as mentioned, the early dramatic tension provided by their being the hunted was cut waaaaay too short and robbed the audience of a sustained, multi layered drama. Had the writers put the story in 1882 instead of 1892, there would have been more believable options in terms of "hostilities" and more credible violence.
...as opposed to the PC kind they manufactured. Not terrible by any means, but not great either. And that is too bad because the potential was there.
This review of Hostiles (2017) was written by Aw C on 03 Feb 2018.
Hostiles has generally received positive reviews.
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