Review of Jacob's Ladder (1990) by Daniel K — 05 Nov 2010

3: Wow. I was not expecting this. For some reason I thought this was a Sci-Fi film; boy was I wrong. The film is all about the ending. It is extremely powerful, no matter how you feel about the Vietnam War.

Unbeknownst to the viewer, at least initially, the film gradually builds up to its inevitable conclusion which ends up being strikingly powerful. The manner in which the films ends was incredibly obvious sometime around the first act or so, but this didn't stop the picture from being eminently watchable.

The dominoes just keep falling as one becomes more and more certain how it will end, but despite all this preparation, one still isn't prepared for the calm and collected devastation that is those final moments.

The camera is still, the score is absent, and the performances are nonchalant, just as it should be in order to have the maximum effect. The picture overall is fairly uneven; only certain sections are memorable, while others seem a bit blasà (C).

This is why the film will never rise above 3 stars. I also can't help but feel a bit cheated by the fact the it is purportedly based on a true story, while this true story is apparently based upon unsubstantiated and uncredited news reports.

Ridiculous. If the DoD actually did this, then it would be unconscionable, but the film provides no evidence of this, when it obviously could if it were available. So this is all just entertainment? Ridiculous.

Still, the film is quite powerful and moving. Well done.