Jon Avnet's 1994 flick 'The War' begins well, has a nice hearty message to convey and great performances working for it, but it's screenplay goes for a toss. The final 20-25 minutes are flawed, and one wonders was this drag even needed?
'The War' tells the story of a family, who are not in the best shape. The head of the family was a part of the Vietnam War, his wife suffered, and their kids are warring with their fellow aged people.
'The War' has a wonderful first hour, in fact the portions between Elijah Wood and Kevin Costner are memorable and highly emotional. And their performances elevate those sequences. But the writing gets very weak in the final 20-25 minutes. It loses the pace completely, and even the honest moral the film tries to convey goes over-looked. The writing should've been more sharper!
Jon Avnet's direction is decent. The dialogue at places, are lovely. Cinematopgraphy is perfect. Performances are top-notch: Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood are via for top honors, for their 'Tour De Force' portrayals. Mare Winningham and Lexi Faith Randall are excellent as well.
On the whole, an honest film, that gets chum-bled up towards it's culmination. Nevertheless, it easily stands as a one-time watch!
'The War' tells the story of a family, who are not in the best shape. The head of the family was a part of the Vietnam War, his wife suffered, and their kids are warring with their fellow aged people.
'The War' has a wonderful first hour, in fact the portions between Elijah Wood and Kevin Costner are memorable and highly emotional. And their performances elevate those sequences. But the writing gets very weak in the final 20-25 minutes. It loses the pace completely, and even the honest moral the film tries to convey goes over-looked. The writing should've been more sharper!
Jon Avnet's direction is decent. The dialogue at places, are lovely. Cinematopgraphy is perfect. Performances are top-notch: Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood are via for top honors, for their 'Tour De Force' portrayals. Mare Winningham and Lexi Faith Randall are excellent as well.
On the whole, an honest film, that gets chum-bled up towards it's culmination. Nevertheless, it easily stands as a one-time watch!