Review of Patton (1970) by Giffy G — 10 Aug 2008

Oh... where do I begin? Well, I'll start with the best thing this movie had to offer: the acting of George C. Scott. I will not deny that he was amazing in his role. Sadly, the movie offered little else.

While it had epic scope, and dealt with real issues of war, it did not do so in a way that I haven't seen before. This movie would rather show me dozens of nameless soldiers explode than give me character and backstory.

Having sat through the whole thing, I can attest that the movie would have been just as effective, if not moreso, at a running time of 2 hours, as there was much repetition of plot. Patton faces enemy.

Patton defeats enemy. Patton recieves flak for his decisions and speaking. The movie started with such high hopes, too. The beginning, in which Scott directly addressed the camera made me think that the movie was going to be making me identify with the soldiers who served under Patton in WWII, a unique and clever idea worthy of such a highly accoladed movie.

However, the movie quickly cut to a detached camera, and I was left with nameless soldiers who I couldn't identify with. The Germans were far more interesting, because I got to see those characters throughout the course of the movie and see their changes.

The ending was muddled, and I don't understand why this movie is often touted as "pro-war" or at the very least favored by people who support most military endeavors. I walked away with the message that war is inevitable, not good.

This movie was highly derivative and far too long.