Simply Perfect

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's hard to believe "Gods and Generals" came out in 2003. The film slightly resembles some of the films from Hollywood's dark era of rewriting history. The film depicts the stories of some of the Confederacy's most prominent generals during the American Civil War including controversial leaders such as Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. From a technical perspective, the film can be appreciated for the costume detail and acting. In one of the opening scenes of this film, John Wilkes Booth is seen delivering a soliloquy as southern belles from Virginia swoon. By the way the film depicts Booth, one would never guess that this same man went on to murder a sitting US president, one who was perhaps the country's greatest. This is just a taste of what is to come. Overall, "Gods and Generals" is a visual feast of highly idealized portrayals of Confederate historical figures. But its pretty hard to digest that a movie produced by Hollywood would glorify people like Booth who murdered a sitting president beside his wife. While Robert E. Lee and Jackson were not a reprehensible as Booth, they were nevertheless controversial historical figures who were imperfect in a very human sense. This film elevates such figures to god status and idolizes them in a deeply unhealthy way. But the most horrifying aspect of the film is the sheer lack of diversity in the casting. It's white faces everywhere. The first slave face doesn't make an appearance on-screen until nearly twenty minutes have passed. Even then, the slave is depicted cheering on the men leaving Virginia to fight for the Confederacy. That particularly scene would have been laughable if it wasn't so absurd. This film came out in the twenty-first century. It's hard to understand how the makes of the film expected to get away with making a pro-Confederacy film with such little diversity. This could have been a decent film. If only it wasn't so misguided and one-sided in its misrepresentation of such important historical events and figures. Additionally, the religious slant is a bit of an unnecessary distraction. This film could have taken the historical route or the fictional route, but instead it decided to rewrite history with sloppy fiction. That is why this film isn't worth watching despite the high production value and effort that was put into making it.

This movie must have been one of the most tedious pieces of whitewashing cinematography, which is an insult to all those who died and suffered in the US Civil War. One of the biggest cringe worthy character in the whole movie was the bible thumping, self-righteous maniac "Stonewall Jackson". Most obvious miss representation of the whole war was with the "Cook" he accepts in his service and all the lines that "Cook" had to say. I believe that the said movies should be remade by Spielberg and Hanks, now that would be one hell of a history lesson with way less whitewashing. There were too many speeches to justify the cause, be that of the North or South. However, speeches of the South were true, in your face, whitewashing bull and cow dung.

In 1861, Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall) rejects the offer to lead the Union Army. Then he accepts to lead the Army of Virginia. At the start of the war, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) is a diligent instructor at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. He would become the legendary Confederate general who leads his army from one victory to the next. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) was a teacher who becomes Lieutenant Colonel in the 20th Maine leading his men in the most decisive skirmish in the most decisive battle. The movie follows mostly Jackson until his death. Everybody has stuffy lines as if they're reading period letters. Nobody is acting loose. It's a series of cardboard characters acting from one scene to the next. The dialog is unapologetically pompous and unflinching. I'd rather watch a documentary like 'The Civil War'. One would expect to dig a little deeper into the characters but we only get the stoic surfaces of these men. This does follow mostly the lesser done southern cause which is fascinating by itself. Of course, slavery is white-washed a bit with only master-loving house slaves. I just wish these characters are more flesh and blood.As for the action, it is very impressive with the reenactors and period equipment. There are certainly a lot extras. The wide shots look great but the close up action could be better done. It needs an expert action director and Ronald F. Maxwell is not the one. This movie is an exercise in recreating the history book but there is little in terms of dramatic cinema.

Director Ron Maxwell's "Gods and Generals," the prequel to "Gettysburg," appears far more polished than his initial American Civil War movie. In "Gettysburg," lots of critics carped about the bogus beards that the actors sported, principally Tom Berenger's Longstreet. Maxwell made sure that his prequel didn't suffer the same fate in the facial hair department. Indeed, the beards look far better. Indeed, lenser Kees Van Oostrum's widescreen cinematography looks immaculate as does most of the sprawling sets. Of course, the Virginia Military Institute looks contemporary for its day because dirt has been put down to cover the asphalt road. Nevertheless, despite the sheer brilliance of this lengthy spectacle, "Gods and Generals" has some problems that some Civil War buffs, particularly historians, may not charitably tolerate. For example, the film refuses to address the issue of slavery, and most of the slaves seem more reminiscent of the loyal slaves from "Gone with the Wind" and "So Red the Rose" era. Basically, this epic war movie was designed to showcase Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, Union General Winfield Scott Hancock, and Union Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Maxwell devotes the bulk of the film to Jackson, and Stephen Lang performs splendidly in the role as the pugnacious but religious leader who died accidentally at the hands of his own men.. Robert Duvall replaces Martin Sheen, but Duvall resembles Lee more than Sheen. The action unfolds with Lee's refusal to take Abraham Lincoln's offer to command all Union forces. Lee explains to Preston Blair that he cannot take up arms against his home state of Virginia. Meantime, Jackson serves as an instructor at VMI when he notices cadets tearing down the Union flag. Later, at the Virginia secession convention, state officials vote to secede from the Union and they offer Lee the job of commanding all their troops. Naturally, Lee accepts this offer without a qualm. When Maxwell shifts his attention to the North, he takes us to Maine, where Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain explains his views about the complicated issue of slavery to his class at Bowdoin College. This is Chamberlain before he entered the Union Army, and this time around we meet his concerned wife, Frances Caroline 'Fanny' Chamberlain (Oscar winning actress Mira Sorvino). Unlike "Gettysburg," women play a larger role in this Civil War film.The film takes place between April 1861 and May 1863, and Maxwell depicts the battles of First Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and concludes the action less than two months before Gettysburg. This magisterial film will no doubt be a chore to sit through, but it does have its rewards. If you don't know much about the Civil War, prepare to be changed. For example, one seasoned military officer shows Chamberlain and his brother the proper way to load a musket, using a nine step method. This same officer impresses upon Chamberlain the necessity for rigorous discipline and training so the soldiers can responds to commands in an expeditious manner. If you saw "Gettysburg," you will learn, too, how the Chamberlains met Sergeant Buster Kilrain (Kevin Conway) and came to be fast friends. Most critics lament the long speeches, but this is a chessboard movie. Unfortunately, Maxwell is probably more ambitious than he should be and the narrative becomes quite unwieldy at times.