Review on “Enemy at the Gates”, a new movie from Mandalay Bay and Paramount Pictures.

“In the midst of WWII, Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) is single handedly killing dozens of German soldiers; expert Nazi sniper Major Koenig (Ed Harris) is sent from Berlin to Stalingrad to eliminate him. It's only a matter of time until Zaitsev and Konig are locked in a duel of snipers. Meanwhile, Zaitsev competes with a Party official (Joseph Fiennes) for the love of a Russian-American female sniper, Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz).” (Reprinted from www.moviefone.com)

Needless to say, the movie is about snipers in WWII.  First things first: will a paintball sniper learn anything useful from watching this movie?  Well, if you read Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills you would notice that the snipers in the movies do a lot of what Carlos Hathcock said not to do.  Like being predictable and leaving the same way every time.    So I guess you could learn a little of what “not” to do.  But overall, there wasn’t a lot to learn from Jude Law and Ed Harris about sniping.

Does this make it any less of a good movie?  No, it doesn’t.  I still really enjoyed myself, and in fact, I am going back to see it tomorrow with the rest of Team AlphaWolf.  It was exciting, romantic, and nerve racking at times.  Plus, it portrays the ability of one man to demoralize and destroy an entire army with single well-placed shots. 

The movie was realistic, not overly bloody (Saving Private Ryan was much worse), and it had a good story with an unexpected twist at the end.  The sets were very detailed and believable.  The opening scenes itself were incredible. 

Final thoughts: It was worth the $5.75 I spent to go see it, and I think you guys would like it too.  So take that special lady friend to go see an action romance.  You will thank me later.  This is “Jawa” saying goodbye and Unenee.

 Christopher “Jawa” Phares OSOK #200

Review on “Enemy at the Gates”

I liked the film. I think the movie captured the meaning of what it takes to be a sniper. Confidence & Patience. These very words are stressed upon throughout the movie. A sniper needs to know without a doubt in his heart that he is the absolute best at what he does. Without that, the enemy has already beaten you without firing a single shot. Without the patience to hold for the perfect shot, well, we all know what happens then.

Although the movie was not entirely historically accurate, the overall premise was kept in tact. I would suggest that anyone who has seen the movie should read the actual accounts of the famous sniper battle between Zaitsev & Koenig. Very compelling piece of sniper history. 

One last note, the movie shows once again the absolute horror that is war. The unimaginable atrocities that take place in a war torn city, and the terrible & unnecessary suffering of human beings at the hands of commanders. One can only hope that we would never have to see such a day. It is amazing that anyone made it out of that war alive. Any movie that moves a person to think of how his or her forefathers made our present day what it is, is a damn fine film indeed.

Squeegie - OSOK 1