Gods and Generals

Meticulous Civil War story runs a little long.

Everybody is so good and decent that it's hard to tell where the generals leave off and the gods start.

Maxwell continues his textbook emphasis on military maneuvers, but despite literally thousands of Civil War reenactors recruited for the film, the wide-screen canvas fails to map the tactics or evoke the terror of battle.

The big battles impress, but become somewhat samey. Part Three is threatened.

The procession of monotonous, oddly gore-free battles breaks frequently for bloated speechifying.

Every shot is fired in sorrow, and there are no villains - except, of course, for the politicians, who remain safely out of the frame.

Succumbs to turgidity. And...intentionally or not...conveys the impression that the film uncritically celebrates the Confederacy. [Blu-ray]

A labour of love with special interest to history buffs, this epic film is extraordinary in many ways.

Then there is 'Gods and Generals,' cut from the same production cloth as 'Gettysburg' but a film of very loose ends.

You will watch a series of battle re-enactments and wait for a film to break out.