8.5/10
I've only got one Terrence Malick movie left to see (The New World) but it seems apparent that if you don't like one, you're not liable to like any of the others. Similar themes and similar filmmaking approaches (namely striking photography, unhurried running times, loose plots, voiceovers, and pretentious chin-stroking) run through all his films. Fortunately for me, I guess, I've liked em all, and I'm trying to decide if The Thin Red Line is my favorite. I would say the last half-hour feels a bit disjointed compared to the rest of the film, especially after the breath-taking sequence where the soldiers storm the hill. I'm not really sure what to make of a major Hollywood star turning up in virtually every role - some say that Malick was making a dig at the Hollywood star system by casting mega-stars like George Clooney and John Travolta in bit parts (and completely excising roles played by Viggo Mortensen, Martin Sheen, and Gary Oldman) but I found it somewhat distracting. I do, however, drool at the prospect of one day seeing the initial 6 hour cut of the movie.
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