Enemy at the Gates

Acting performances were more than impressive for Jude Law, especially, and Ed Harris. They brought a lot of realism to the table and they easily resembled the real soldiers at that time. Sasha, the adolescent who serves as the spy, did a fairly good job. The atmosphere for "Enemy at the Gates" is very dreary, similar to "Gladiator", but, I think that made it more realistic, such as scenes with the soldiers cooped up together in shelters, almost silent, a few of them talking about how they may never get to see their family again and things of that nature. There is a small bit of romance in this but it doesn't get too involved with the main storyline, fortunately. This is like a "double-biography" of the lives of two warriors who sacrificed everything for their country.


Way disappointing   May 8, 2001
 3 out of 12 found this review helpful

I guess the pitch meeting made it look great: a tragic love story during one of the worst (or the worst) states of siege in WWII, battles that made many of the other ones look like a game, Jude Law, Ed Harris, the gorgeous Rachel Weisz... too bad it was all wasted in a HORRIBLY written story. I don't mean to get personal or offensive, but it is obvious that the writers aren't English speakers, their dialogues have no substance at all, they never get our attention, what was supposed to be profound or important or existencial is just simple and dull, the characters never lift from the cartoonish depth they were given at the beginning. Forget about how real it is or it should be (it is a movie, not a history lesson), it is just too boring, yes there are battles, blood, violence, acts of courage, etc., but it all seems way, way amateur; it doesn't look like something made by the director of 7 Years in Tibet, and it does NOT look like something you should waste your money or time on. You had better wait for the release on video.


An Opening Gate For A New Movie   May 6, 2001
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

This movie is very well written, directed and acted. This is definitly a movie worth seeing.

With its akward and gruesome approach towards WW2 It shows Vassili (Jude Law) as a soldier with an amazing shot. He is taken under the wing of a news reporter who makes him a hero. He quickly becomes one of the most popular people in Russia and later in the wolrd for his amazing shot. He helps Russia progress greatly through the war when times looked their worst. He then discovers that the very best sniper (Ed Harris) in the world has been sent by Germany to kill him.

The war then makes the fight between two nations a conflict between two men.

All each other needs is a single bullet to win the war. It all depends on who fires first.

This movie has an amazing performance by Ed Harris and Jude Law.


Quite poor.   May 2, 2001
 4 out of 10 found this review helpful

The only reason I gave this film two stars is because of the interesting and suspenseful non-sniper battles, which really aren't much of the film. However, as soon as this movie moves from the battle fields to the relationship and human side, it loses all ground. The romance is trite, and the love triangle is even dumber. This movie tries so hard to have the gore and violence and shocks that Saving Private Ryan had, but there really aren't any characters to care about at all. Many of the human stories in the film have been so Hollywoodized that the film ends up being a trite war film about love instead of the tense sniper film that the previews made it out to be. Also, so many ideas are ripped off of other sniper films that it seems incredibly old. Many times in this movie I felt like I was watching much older films and reading many other books. The last thing I will say is that Enemy at the Gates could've been much shorter, by about an hour. This movie is quite dissapointing and isn't near the caliber of any of the great war films like A Bridge Too Far or Bridge on the River Kwai. I reccommend that you see any of those older films before you spend ten dollars to see this one.


Blown Away   May 2, 2001
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This movie was the most amazing reconstruction of World War Two Russia I have ever seen. It depicts the Russian struglle perfectly while keeping the characters as real as possible. Stunning performances from Harris, Fiennes, and Law, all three alike. This is a must see for anyone with a strong mind who is ready to be blown away.