Review of Patton (1970) by Emeka W — 18 Jun 2008

When I put Patton into my DVD player, I was sure I was going to see one of the best movies i've ever seen. All of the critics I tend to agree with loved it, and just about everyone I know has plenty of good things to say about it. Unfortunately, however, it had nowhere near the impact on me as it did them. Perhaps I didn't "get it", or it simply wasn't my kind of film. Without Scott's performance, which is one of the finest and most iconic performances of all time, I didn't find the film particularly compelling in any way.

Patton is a man of many layers and these layers are all dissected thoroughly throughout the films three-hour runtime. He's a man who feels he transcends time - he's certainly a larger than life personality, and he would not argue with that analysis one bit. As the film opens, we see him as an absolutely rotten and jaded man without a single happy thought in his mind... however, near the end of the film we root for him as a sort of anti-hero. This is definitely the strength of the film. Not only is the character well established, but he is at all times changing in regards to his environment and in terms of the way we think of him. His changes are never sudden and unbelievable, he's more of a living, breathing, and completely real film character.

The odd thing about Patton is that it's essentially a pro-war film made at the hight of Vietnam. The defining characteristic of Patton is pride - he's a hero, and he damn well believes we need heroes in this world. At one point near the end of the film, he says he's glad he'll be gone when machines do the fighting for us. This is a powerful message, but at the same time, it made me feel uncomfortable. Throughout the film, in spectacular Hollywood fashion, we get these extravagant and long action sequences that are rather violent and almost glorified. Having a pro-war film that glorifies it's violence seems to be a bit disturbing to me. It's a minor complaint, and I don't necessarily feel that the film "exploited" war, but I certainly did think that the action scenes were the worst part of the movie.

The film opens with the famous scene of Patton giving a speech in front of an American flag. We, the viewers, are his soldiers - and he's shedding light on the reality of war and his pride for his country and soldiers. Within moments we think we know all we need to know about Patton. However, as the story unfolds, the filmmakers reveal even more assets to his character. The problem here, however, was that although Patton is an extraordinarily interesting character - I didn't necessarily need to see him for 170 minutes. After the intermission I began getting restless and letting my mind wander. It's a great character and a classic performance, but I still would've been content leaving this world about 90 minutes in.

I can't say this is a bad film by any means. As i've stated numerous times, the performances are great. The cinematography is also beautiful, and especially impressive for it's time. The score was obnoxious and grating, but I will admit that it's an unmistakable tune and will always be associated with the film. Most films don't have this much going for them... but, dare I say, this was simply uninteresting in the long run. There were marvelous scenes here and there, but inbetween I felt as though "just a bunch of stuff is happening".

A few critics I admire and look up to would read this review and declare it sacreligious, vile, and consider my intelligence level to be that of an 11-year-old child. All I can say is that I completely respect everyone's admiration of the film, and I almost feel cheated that I can't join them in this appreciation.