Flags of our Fathers does a great job of portraying the book upon which it is based, but unfortunately, it leaves too much story, too much action on the table.
Sadly, the movie was over far too soon--Clint Eastwood could have given the film another 45 minutes to an hour running time and would have just started to cover the subject matter. He should have dropped certain subplots, such as Gagnon's girlfriend, and used the time to fully explore other characters such as Barry Pepper's Mike Strank.
During the scene where Ira Hayes is crying on Strank's mother's shoulder, we see more of a drunk, irrational Hayes, than we see a man who is heartbroken over the loss of a great leader. Exploring Strank's character would have given us more reason to understand the love felt by all the men towards him.
Flags of our Fathers is a well-made film, the editing, camera work and cinematography are first rate. As usual with Clint Eastwood's films there is great attention to detail, and he gets work from all his actors.
Politically correct, the movie shies away from the realities of the Pacific war, including the extreme hatred felt by each side for the other, and save for one instance the atrocities committed by the combatants. In that one instance, the victim is off camera, but you do get a sense of his fate by the reactions of the men around him.
All in all, a good war film, but I am still waiting for the definitive Pacific war film--so many films have been based on the European war. Hollywood films like Bridge on the River Kwai and Sands of Iwo Jima are not it.
Sadly, the movie was over far too soon--Clint Eastwood could have given the film another 45 minutes to an hour running time and would have just started to cover the subject matter. He should have dropped certain subplots, such as Gagnon's girlfriend, and used the time to fully explore other characters such as Barry Pepper's Mike Strank.
During the scene where Ira Hayes is crying on Strank's mother's shoulder, we see more of a drunk, irrational Hayes, than we see a man who is heartbroken over the loss of a great leader. Exploring Strank's character would have given us more reason to understand the love felt by all the men towards him.
Flags of our Fathers is a well-made film, the editing, camera work and cinematography are first rate. As usual with Clint Eastwood's films there is great attention to detail, and he gets work from all his actors.
Politically correct, the movie shies away from the realities of the Pacific war, including the extreme hatred felt by each side for the other, and save for one instance the atrocities committed by the combatants. In that one instance, the victim is off camera, but you do get a sense of his fate by the reactions of the men around him.
All in all, a good war film, but I am still waiting for the definitive Pacific war film--so many films have been based on the European war. Hollywood films like Bridge on the River Kwai and Sands of Iwo Jima are not it.