Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

From my favorite movies..

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Despite the lack of actual 'punch' within the plot, the portrayal of wartime and issues with regards to slavery during and after the war was interesting and well-represented. It provides a new perspective for viewers, as the Confederate Army is often demonized in many Civil war movies; the Field of Lost Shoes, instead focuses on the morality and humanity of many young soldiers and cadets. Robert, as portrayed by Nolan Gould, even mentions in the beginning that his father was opposed to slavery and took him to see a slave auction as a 'lesson in life', to which he witnesses a black family being separated. In fact, many of the young cadet boys held anti-slavery sentiments, scenes such as the Old Judge and slave lady who got stuck under a cart really illustrates the notion that not all soldiers enlisted or reserved to fight with the confederate army all held the same values with regards to slavery. Many of the boy's motivation to fight was to defend their land, seek 'revenge' for the fallen and uphold honor- many in which are disregarded in many Civil War movies and the Field of Lost Shoes does a great job at providing another perspective. There is a somber contrast between the cadets and the old soldiers, many of which are portrayed to be rude old men who jeered at the cadets. In a turn of events, during the actual fighting, it was the cadets that marched in order and upheld their bravery and honor, even suggesting they should charge through union fire. All in all, the movie, although a little lacking in plot, provided a great and entertaining representation of the Civil War and specifically the Battle of Newmarket.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. What I specifically enjoyed was how the producers made the movie about more than just battles, the President, or the government in general. I liked how they introduced the movie with character development, which further developed into friendship- another aspect I liked. Another enjoyable aspect was that the watcher received the viewpoint of slaves, generals, the President, soldiers, people outside of the war, everybody. This movie brought in a lot about slavery. The slaves involved in the movie were intelligent, eloquent-speaking, kind-hearted people that didn't seem to have any resentment towards whites. I found this odd because in this time period, many of these slaves weren't educated- which these people seemed to be. In addition, there were no "pro- slavery" people, which I found odd because the movie took place in the Confederacy. The teenagers in the movie seemed overly compassionate towards slaves, especially ones that weren't their own. One last odd thing about the slaves was how Old Judge stood over the dead bodies of people fighting for slavery while crying at the end of the movie. I was fond of the fact that they developed the Confederate soldier characters as they did- that they were more than just slavery-protecting people that were in the wrong. This movie revealed the sides of some of these people, especially when the soldiers took the blame for the food mishap with Old Judge, a slave, and helped an apparent slave woman when she had a structure fall on her leg- while marching to combat Union forces. They also showed how other things in life, such as religion, were important to them. I liked this because it showed that these soldiers were more than soldiers- they were people. It was eye-opening. I like how the movie exposed "relationships" as a soldier- that they were nice, yet fleeting. Oftentimes, I don't see many war movies that show true friendship, or the beginnings of flirtation- this movie provoked feelings, something that even people that aren't history-buffs can relate to. This movie definitely pulled heartstrings as the main characters throughout the whole movie were teenagers and even a young boy, yet it was pretty predictable towards the end of the movie when the battle was occurring. Another setback of this movie is how unrealistic it seems, the special effects aren't the best, and the settings aren't what one would expect from a tip-top Civil War movie. In addition, for the movie's description declaring that the movie was about this one battle, it took an awful long time to get to the battle. The battle part however though, was a good one. The friendship theme continues throughout and lasts. This movie exposed the emotions during and after a battle, and continued to last afterwards despite revealed religious differences. This movie brought in a community aspect, how after the battle the community gathered and worked to help nurse the wounded back to health. However, the one "relationship" in the movie was kind of cheesy and seemed as if it was built and destroyed just for the purpose of tearing people up. Overall, I thought this movie was relatively good and I would watch it for my own enjoyment and not for a US History assignment.

I believe that this movie was sufficiently accurate to support the events of history during the civil war. Throughout this movie, the viewer was clearly able to see how the lives of the cadets were at the time. It showed their struggles at the young age, along with their sacrifices for their people. In addition, the movie provided the fact that not all southerners supported slavery. There were some who were willing to fight for their family, but wanted a change if they were victorious. However, "Field of Lost Shoes" became a bit cliché. The love story that began in the film was too focused on. I felt as though the story of slavery and the stress and efforts of the cadets and soldiers did not get the attention that was expected given the current situation of the story. Overall, I thought that the movie provided good facts regarding the locations, uniforms of both sides, weaponry, women's clothing and responsibilities, and the tactics used. It is a movie that could have focused more on effects and the main plot, but the details and information were accurate.

This film had some positives and some negatives. The battle scenes and costumes seemed realistic rather than cheesy. However, the love story was a complete cliché. Libby and Sam claimed they were in love but they barely knew each other and she didn't seem very upset when he died. Although, the ending was surprising which is a plus. It was surprising to see which boys died and which ones did not. The title was sadly fitting. All the boys lost their shoes in the mud. Then there was the heartbreaking scene at the end where Sir Rat and Judge cried over the shoes and the cruelties of war. This movie depicted the negative aspects of war and how it affected the soldiers that bravely fought it.