Review of The Thin Red Line (1998) by Bobby B — 20 Feb 2011
Terrence Malick knows how to shoot a movie. The Thin Red Line is visually gorgeous, but an absolute slog to sit through. I was hypnotized by the beautiful images and innovative cinematography for nearly an hour of the three-hour running time, but then started wanting more substance than pretty pictures.
And it took far less than an hour before I tired of the "poetic", often downright corny narration. Malick approaches ambitious questions about the violence in nature and humanity, but ends up saying almost nothing new or interesting.
The biggest sin this movie commits is casting so many great actors, and then doing nearly nothing with them. There are a few moments where the enormous talent of the cast shines through, but Malick seems uninterested in their characters.
I appreciate the effort to do something radically different for the war genre, but The Thin Red Line was a depressingly empty experience for me - not to mention an excruciatingly long sit.
This review of The Thin Red Line (1998) was written by Bobby B on 20 Feb 2011.
The Thin Red Line has generally received very positive reviews.
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