Review of Patton (1970) by Harry L — 28 Mar 2010

What can I say, a well executed film that doesn't seem to hold back much at all. They show you just how down right cruel this man can be, while at the same time letting you get to know him and how he works.

You despise him, yet respect him. You want to put him down, yet you want to pat him on the back. This is of course expressed for us by the soldiers, and General Bradley (Karl Malden).

The character of Patton is very well executed, and George C. Scott was indeed the best one to do it.

If a movie can make you change emotions, views, and impressions regarding a character in a clear defining way that makes sense (and with proper timing) I'd say it has done a fine job.

Although Patton's speech is not nearly as great as Charlie Chaplin's in The Great Dictator, it is still something that had some meaning for the period it's based on. Being a moral booster, a means/reason to get troops to fight for something. Although I may not agree with some of the things representing Patton's view, they certainly know how to show both sides to the coin.

This movie isn't about the fighting surrounding World War 2, it's about a grizzled old dog wanting to get into a fight before his fangs fall out. Only to have them pulled out due to politics, and his own insanity.

A soldier to the end, whose only weakness is the lack of a war. A "romantic warrior", who wanted to relish in the glory of other mens death.