I'm a huge Civil War buff and I really enjoyed Gods and General...the novel.
Unfortunately, the film was just a rambling mess that tried to introduce too many characters and tell too much of a complicated war. This film tried to be a drama, a biopic, and a war film among other things. Had they just focused on Stonewall Jackson, the film may have worked, but instead, they tried to follow the pattern of Gettysburg by telling as many sides as possible. Trying to tell three years of history proved to be too much. The result was that much of the history was left untold and too many of the characters were given too little screen time to adequately unwrap them.
We don't ever see the important battles that occurred on the Peninsula, 2nd Manassas, or Antietam.
The portrayals of many of the important figures is well-done. Robert Duvall is a big improvement over Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang does a good job as Stonewall...but the performances aren't enough to make the film worthwhile. However, the dialog was very archaic and grandiose; there are long monologues where a character will pray or talk at length about something. I get that this is to impart the deep religious convictions, but its overdone and it become tedious.
I suppose you could watch the 5-hour director's cut...if you really want to sit on the couch for five hours.
Unfortunately, the film was just a rambling mess that tried to introduce too many characters and tell too much of a complicated war. This film tried to be a drama, a biopic, and a war film among other things. Had they just focused on Stonewall Jackson, the film may have worked, but instead, they tried to follow the pattern of Gettysburg by telling as many sides as possible. Trying to tell three years of history proved to be too much. The result was that much of the history was left untold and too many of the characters were given too little screen time to adequately unwrap them.
We don't ever see the important battles that occurred on the Peninsula, 2nd Manassas, or Antietam.
The portrayals of many of the important figures is well-done. Robert Duvall is a big improvement over Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang does a good job as Stonewall...but the performances aren't enough to make the film worthwhile. However, the dialog was very archaic and grandiose; there are long monologues where a character will pray or talk at length about something. I get that this is to impart the deep religious convictions, but its overdone and it become tedious.
I suppose you could watch the 5-hour director's cut...if you really want to sit on the couch for five hours.