My, how the mighty have fallen. I remember
"Gettysburg" as one of the greatest films about
war ever made, and the greatest film to deal with the Civil
War, of all-time. The fight scenes were perfectly
directed, the acting was top notch, and the emotional impact
was off the charts. What in the hell happened with
"Gods and Generals", a film about as enjoyable as
Louisville Slugger straight to the old cranium.
Jeff Daniels reprises his role as Lieutenant Colonel Joshua
Chamberlain, Stephen Lang co-stars as General Stonewall
Jackson, and Robert Duvall tries his hand at a horrible
accent as General Robert E. Lee. What is the plot?
War. Plain and simple. We get to see the Battle
of Bull Run, horribly re-created by--as unbelievable as it
sounds--Civil War reenactors--the friggin' professionals.
Well, let me tell you there is nothing professional about
this disaster from Ted Turner Pictures. The only thing
redeeming was the end credits.
Why does director Ron Maxwell even try to make us sympathize
with the Confederacy. Sure, innocent young men were
killed and they believed strongly for what they fought, but
they were fighting for slavery--the entrapment and forced
labor of a race. How can we sympathize with that?
Some can, I suppose, but I am not included in that minority.
Now, Jeff Daniels is usually a great actor, and he is not
terrible in "Gods and Generals", but he seems
totally different from the same character he portrayed in
"Gettysburg". His dialogue is too flowery,
at times, and most of the men in this film talk so
eloquently--much too eloquently for Thomas Jefferson or
Abraham Lincoln, much less Confederate and Union generals
with minimal educations and certainly no reason to not dumb
it down for the yokels they commanded.
"Gods and Generals" has a running time of around
three and a half hours, though it seems like it lasts a day
and a half. Watching the battle sequences are painful,
not because of the tragedy of the situation or the thought
of the amount of human loss, but because they are horribly
thrown together and not nearly as respectful as they should
be. Avoid this film, I urge you. Even Civil War
fans should be insulted by this picture, something that
really has no excuse for having been made. My, how the
mighty have fallen.
