Enemy at the Gates

In the opening sequence of the film Enemy at the Gates, Russian men, women and children are herded onto trains, the men are thrown off, some are given guns or ammo in a disorderly fashion and then thrust onto boats which are being bombed by the German Army. Upon landing in Stalingrad, which is only a skeleton of the city it used to be, the men are told via speakers that they must attack and if they refuse they will be shot by their own army. In a horrific sequence the men, unprepared and unarmed, charge forward to their deaths.

It is a beginning comparable to Saving Private Ryan, but that's the only time that Enemy at the Gates comes close to being as good as Ryan.

Loosely based on a true story, Enemy is about a heroic young Russian soldier named Vasily (Jude Law). With Hitler's army demolishing their city, Russians were in need of a hero to give them hope. A talented sharp shooter, Vasily went from being a shepherd to a Russian hero thanks to the PR talents of political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). In the film Danilov and Vasily become friends and help each other to further their careers and positions in the army (although in reality there is no evidence they were ever friends). Both men fall in love with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), a beautiful girl who is fighting with the militia. When Hitler's army finds out about Vasily they send one of their best officers, Konig (Ed Harris), to hunt and kill the Russian hero.

War, heroism, a hunt, a love triangle, the bonds of friendship; it's all there. The problem is that there is so little time spent developing the characters that the reality of the situation is lost in order to spend time on Hollywoodizing the story of Vasily. Instead of concentrating on the fascinating aspects of the Russian's and the German's ideals, the strife and struggle of the solders and common folk or the difficulty Vasily faced in being a hunted hero, the film mostly focuses on a soap opera-like love triangle.

Only the moments when Konig is playing a cat and mouse chase with Vasily does the film seem authentic. As Konig stalks and Vasily runs the story picks up and shows the danger and horror of the war. But sadly most of the film is spent on cheesy dialogue and unrealistic love scenes accompanied by James Horner's out of place sweeping score.

With such talented actors as Law, Fiennes and Weisz it's too bad there wasn't a better script to back up their skills. With that said though, Law does succeed in making Vasily seem heroic, as well as show his doubts in his talent when he's up against the superior Konig. But even Law, who is like a romantic Don Juan in real life, can't make the love scenes with Weisz sing. Weisz, with her big brown eyes and intelligent demeanor, is perfect for the spirited and tough Tanya, yet she isn’t able to give Tanya more than one dimension. At one moment she is describing how her parents were carted off by Nazis and violently murdered and the next she's falling in love and fighting the battle on the front lines. If the war and her loss have affected her it does not show.

Enemy had the makings of a great film but fell short in its desire to make war romantic and entertaining.