Enemy at the Gates

The core of the plot is the personal duel between two expert snipers, the Red Army's Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law) and the German Wehrmacht major, Koenig (Ed Harris), the latter brought into the Stalingrad cauldron to kill the former before he totally destroys the morale of the German troops trying to capture the city. It's a cat and mouse confrontation depicted with startling realism, though, in this case, the mouse is just as deadly as the cat. The rest of the film is just window dressing, especially the sappy love triangle between Zaitsev, political commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), and a female Red Army sniper, Tania, played by Rachel Weisz.

The film, set among the rubble and destroyed factories of Stalin's city, is visually stunning. The performances of Law, Harris and Fiennes are excellent, as is that by Bob Hoskins, who plays Joe Stalin's political representative on the scene, Nikita Krushchev. My complaints center on the accents of the main characters, which don't sound Russian by any stretch of the imagination, the previously-mentioned and totally superfluous love story, and the fact that the Krushchev is given way too much screen time at the expense of the Russian general, Chuikov, who doesn't even appear, even though he was the Red Army's military commander whose gritty defense of the city ultimately prevailed.

This story of the duel between Zaitsev and his German nemesis is based in fact, though a better telling of the tale is the work of book fiction, WAR OF THE RATS, by David Robbins. If you're interested in this footnote to the Stalingrad struggle, the book is a "must", and the film will serve as excellent visual reinforcement.


Russians with British accents?   May 22, 2001
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

I fell for the hype and went out to see this movie a few weeks ago. What bugs me the most is that every time this movie is mentioned saving private ryan is as well. It is by no means comparable to saving private ryan. The film is often slow and boring, after the opening few scenes the rest of film was a cat and mouse game between two snipers. Another problem with the film that made it hard to get excited about is the fact the main characters are supposed to be Russian's, but they speak with English accents. Not that the acting was bad I just couldn't get past the accents.


Intense, but a little predictable   May 22, 2001
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I thought Enemy at the Gates was a fairly good movie, though a little predictable at times. It is a good overall story, though, and the realism was pretty good.


Great cast, great cinematography: Great Movie.   May 20, 2001
 6 out of 10 found this review helpful

In a very well acted depiction of the World War II sniper battles in Stalingrad, this more or less historically correct account is one of the few gems in an otherwise dull pile of rocks in theaters. Although the final duel seems to be pieced together from a few different reports, it's brain candy nontheless. The story has been brilliantly reassembled from the many Russian newspaper reports of the time to create a beautifully written, visually enthralling film studded with many fine actors and actresses. Major Konig's marksmanship is also very well depicted. This movie is a must-see.


The best movie about WWII you're likely to see this year.   May 20, 2001
 3 out of 8 found this review helpful

I already knew the 'facts' behind this story before going to the cinema so my hopes were high. The start of the film did not disappoint in it's bleak look at life in a Russian Stalingrad trying to beat back the relentless advance of Nazi Germany. The movie makes you feel for the Russians caught between a ruthless Hitler and an insane Stalin - you can easily see why Russia suffered the heaviest casualties of any nation involved in World War 2. You understand why Jude Law's character Vassily Zaitzev became the most famous name in Russia and one of the few Russian 'heros' from Stalin's time that is still remembered as a genuine hero by the Russian public today.

OK, the film is Hollywood-ised by a rather unbelievable love interest sub-plot when a conveniently gorgeous female sniper (Rachel Weisz) falls for our noble hero, but this is a mild middle-of-the-movie time-waste distraction and does not really detract from the suspense of the ending, when Jude Law and the wonderful Ed Harris snipe it out in the ruins of Stalingrad. The supporting actors are great (who knew that Joseph Fiennes could act?) and, generally, the film's probably about as good as such films get (well, without the involvement of Steven Spielberg, anyway).

Until I see Pearl Harbor I'm going to stick my neck out and label this film the best WW2 flick of 2001 - hey, the only other real competition so far was U-571, and that was no real competition at all.