The battle for Stalingrad is surely one of the more gripping chapters
in the colossal drama that was World War II. It boggles the mind
to imagine the world's most fearsome invasion force get stopped,
and eventually surrounded, isolated and obliterated with a loss
of 1 000 000 people on each side. (Holy historical turning points,
Batman!!) Going in, I had a fear that this movie would ignore
the Hitler biting off more than he could chew aspect, and turn
this almighty battle into a hoakey showdown between two movie
stars. Well, it did... but the showdown wasn't too hoakey, and
the stars were fairly good.
It's kind of a shame that amidst such a spectacular setting, the movie had such a narrow view. The few large battle scenes we got were really impressive and harrowing (particularly our protagonist's first near-suicidal taste of combat). It's good to see these important events get the cinematic respect they deserve.
Rather than concentrate on this epic to end all epics, however, Enemy at the Gates focuses on the exploits of one real-life famous Russian hero, sniper Vassili Zaitsev. In reality, he supposedly really did pick off a whole lot of Germans, fall in love with a female Russian comrade, and square off against a German sniper. So, there you have it.
Jude Law was well cast as our humble hero. He's likable, but he also conveyed a lot of reluctance and vulnerability that struck a real chord with this viewer. Well done!
Joseph Fiennes played Danilov, a devoted political officer who befriended Zaitsev and exploited his propaganda potential to the max. I liked Joseph all right, but I'm not sure how effective his character really was, particularly later when the two became rivals for the affection of a female soldier (Rachel Weisz). The whole love triangle didn't really work, and was it really even necessary? I mean, isn't there already more than enough drama to go around?
Ed Harris was an interesting choice as the German Major Konig. With his chiseled facial features and piercing glance, he had the makings of a good Nazi, but his performance didn't really spook me out, very much. He was nice and focused and intense, but there was a slight problem: Harris' unaltered American dialect was a real distraction. Perhaps in this case, it was a mistake to not have any of the players take on an accent. (Hey, what's this soft-spoken American dude doing there? Is he supposed to be the villain?)
London East-ender Bob Hoskins, on the other hand, was great as Russian commander Nikita Khrushchev. Very ruthless and convincing.
The duel between Vassili and Konig was carried out from a distance, as the two snipers put their skills to the ultimate test. There was a lot of strategy involved as each tried to set up the other for a good clean shot, without revealing their own position. One got a clear sense that Konig was much more experienced and cunning, and at the same time, his aim was sharper. Clearly, Vassili had a lot of catching up to do, and this helped make the conflict more interesting.
Overall, I'd say that Enemy at the Gates was a good war film, but a few ongoing flaws keep it from being a classic. Even so, most of the characters are engaging, the combat is very impressive and the overall atmosphere of urban wartime chaos is well-established. All that makes this a thoroughly decent watch.