I don’t know why it took me so long to see this movie. I’ve been wanting to see it ever since I first heard of it. I finally watched it and I’m glad I did.
The scene cuts between the three timelines are done very well. I mildly struggled to keep track of all the different characters, but anyone who puts a little effort in or knows their history, will do just fine.
The movie does show some gore, but nothing too horrible. It’s enough to keep things real, some gore is needed to get the message across that this was a gruesome time in our history. But it wasn’t gore for gores sake. Honestly, this was one of the least bloody depictions I’ve seen of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Any slower paced moment in the movie is countered quite well with action from one of the other times. And I think the out of order sequence is perfect in demonstrating to us the chaos the veterans likely felt. The aftereffects of war are shown to us in the best manner possible via movie.
By far, I would say this is one of the best war movies I’ve seen in a while. And it will teach you a thing or two about history. I’d say this is a must see for everyone. The cussing is kept to a minimum, I didn’t notice any at all, but there could have been. If your kids won’t be disturbed by death and some gore, I’d say you should watch this with them. The lessons in this movie are the kind our youth should learn.
mizner13 