Brad Pitt leads a tough tank team on missions thru WWII Germany. The inevitable fresh-faced recruit adds to the clichés. The first third of this film is mostly brutal, grimy war. The respite in the middle involves two German women. The final encounter manages to boost the action quotient. It’s painted with some arresting visual imagery and drenched in blood, mud, and macho drama. It’s war, so things are tough, but the relentless unpleasantness of the one-dimensional characters doesn’t make it more bearable (and Pitt has some of the worst war lines ever). Compelling at times with well-done violence, but lacking in that extra quality element that would have made it a great film.
(3 / 5)