Saturday, November 7, 2020

Sand Castle (2017)

IMDb plot summary: The story follows a young soldier, and his introduction into the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Based on true events, it bears witness to the destruction, and horrors of war.
Directed by Fernando Coimbra. Starring Henry Cavill, Nicholas Hoult, Tommy Flanagan, and Glen Powell.

This is apparently based on the screenwriter's experiences in Iraq. It definitely has its moments where it shines. Like so many war movies, most of the characters all blend into each other no matter how much personality they try to give them, but Hoult as a centerpiece brings more charisma to the role than the "young recruit audience viewpoint" characters in a lot of similar films. It's easy to connect with his disillusionment, his frustration, his hope, and his disappointment throughout the film. Without giving anything away, I thought the ending was interesting as well -- not necessarily emotionally powerful or thought-provoking, which is what I would REALLY want from this -- but it went a direction I didn't necessarily expect. This is however a film weighed down by the logistics of the task they're trying to accomplish, and a lot of the scenes feel less like stories and more like watching someone checking off checkpoints in a video game.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Sand Castle < Letters from Iwo Jima
Sand Castle > An Ideal Husband
Sand Castle < The Rescuers Down Under
Sand Castle < Play Misty for Me
Sand Castle > The Thin Red Line
Sand Castle < Cry-Baby
Sand Castle > Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Sand Castle > Zorba the Greek
Sand Castle > Apocalypse Now
Sand Castle < In the Heat of the Night
Sand Castle < On the Waterfront
Sand Castle < Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Final spot: #2292 out of 3251, or 29%.

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