Review of The Flowers of War (2011) by Margaret W — 11 Jan 2012
The themes are familiar and somewhat poorly executed, but the direction (this director is the guy who was in charge of the Beijing Olympic ceremonies) is beautiful and exciting and a wonder to behold. The action scenes are swift and brutal and the sets of a war torn Nanking are darkly gorgeous. I'm glad Bale got involved in this as well, he brings something nice to the film and is probably one of the only reasons this film will get the kind of attention it will in the West.
It's a film that you get caught up in and is chock full of selfless heroism. But upon further reflection after it's over, its plot contrivances start to stand out a little more. It's also overly clear who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. The portraits of these people leave no room for interpretation, not that it should, necessarily, but...
Great movie though, not deserving the trashing it's getting by the critics. And worth seeing if solely for the visual aspect.
This review of The Flowers of War (2011) was written by Margaret W on 11 Jan 2012.
The Flowers of War has generally received positive reviews.
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