When war breaks out in 1914 Germany, a student (Felix Kammerer) and his friends eagerly enlist. His experiences in the muddy trenches and scorched fields slowly erode his enthusiasm, as he comes to grips with the realities of combat. Other than one gripping scene near the end (he kills a French soldier) much of the bloody devastation lacks impact. There are some impressively staged sequences full of fire and death, but even the strewn-about mangled bodies lose their impact. Anyone who saw 1917 (my review) has pretty much seen this movie from a different POV. However, 1917 was much more effective in painting the horrors of war and its effects on the soldiers. 
(3 / 5)
