This movie turned out to be different from what I expected. It was good in those areas which I was expecting to suck, and bad in those that I was expecting to shine.
There were plenty of war scenes and they were almost properly done. Lots of gun fire, explosions, and battle action and of these were at a loss without any strategy. It gets boring to watch a bunch of guys firing a bunch of guns and running all over the place. There was no clear distinction between allies and enemies. There was no clear distinction of a plan. Targets weren’t clearly marked for the audience. All the attention was given to soldiers, their ammunition and the scenery of the battle field. Airplanes and ships were mentioned briefly, each with their own impressive shots. But again, no attention to what and where they were doing in connection to the battle field.
There was some good acting, but not by Nicolas Cage. In fact, everyone else did better than him. His character appeared very shallow and faceless. One of Cage’s worst roles that I have seen.
Plenty of good photography and sound effects. I haven’t noticed any music except for that played by the characters, so I if it was there it must have been very good and natural. Plenty of good photography. Oh, I’ve mentioned it already, but it was really good.
Overall, I’ll give this movie a firm 6 out of 10.