Directed by Clint Eastwood; produced by Steven Spielberg; starring the promising trifecta of Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Paul Walker; based on the best-selling book by James Bradley and Ron Powers. Together, these would appear to be just the right ingredients for another awe-inspiring and award winning war movie.
In the end, however, the recipe failed to deliver for "Flags of Our Fathers," opening across the country Friday.
The filmmakers seem to have been overzealous by attempting to cram everything they could into it, but somehow failing to include some necessary points.
"Flags of Our Fathers" has the most reproduced photograph in the history of photography emblazoned on every poster and advertisement, where six soldiers raise an American flag in the Iwo Jima battlefield.
Filmmakers assume viewers know the significance of this event, not bothering to go into much detail. The importance of the photo is emphasized, but not the reason why it is important.
The main characters, John Bradley (Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) are three of the six men who helped raise the flag in that iconic image. The focus of the movie is around that event, but unfortunately, it's not that simple.
"Flags of Our Fathers" is a sloppy, two-and-a-half hour concoction of different story lines, making it unclear as to what the film was trying to convey.
In the obvious story line of the war itself, gruesome deaths of the soldiers fighting in World War II are shown, without any prior background on their lives. It's just a bloodbath of nameless bodies, presumably to get viewers to understand the harshness of war, but ultimately is just an excuse to bump up the CGI effects, which are not anything to be excited about, because of the overdone sepia-tone throughout the picture.
It fails to add a humanistic and personal connection to the characters who are fighting, as in "Saving Private Ryan," another Spielbergproduced World War II flick. It isn't until after the fighting that character development is added.
Another story line comes into play when the main characters are sent back to America to help promote the war by selling bonds across the country. The men, however, feel they are being exploited by the government for their heroic duties in Iwo Jima. They also struggle with having lost a large number of friends in the war. Layer upon layer of emotion and plot continue to be added, and make it seem as if the movie will never end.
Suddenly, the film jumps several years into the future, where Bradley's son is interviewing his father's army friends for a book he is writing. This book is in turn supposed to be the actual book the movie is based on (surprise, surprise).
Eastwood held true to the book's format, and he is perhaps planning to clear up some of the confusion in his next World War II movie, "Letters From Iwo Jima."
"You can't judge 'Flags of Our Fathers' as a stand-alone piece," said actor Barry Pepper in a phone interview Thursday. "You need to see 'Letters From Iwo Jima' to understand Eastwood's vision."
Pepper portrays Sgt. Mike Strank in "Flags of Our Fathers." He will not be appearing in "Letters From Iwo Jima," as it will focus on the enemy's perspective of the war, with all Japanese actors.
"Flags of Our Fathers" does not stand well on its own. Eastwood should strive to tie the loose ends of the story come next year.
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