The movie was not scoring any points for me until it hit stride midway through. Perhaps it's because the first half introduces the situation and the characters. The second half shows what they do. So hang in there.
The characters are so tightly written that at first blush, their actions seem contrived or unbelievable. However, if you really think about "What would so and so do?" You'll find the action and motivation makes sense.
For example, the gullible lead female is willing to believe not only the sailors but the person who lured her across country for a fake job. The low ranking sea man from the 1940's has problems suddenly coping with the 1980s. The angry veteran toward the end, obviously coping with PTSD, blows off his old friend.
Commentors above said, for example, the taciturn, unfriendly reaction of the old Vet in his 60s was unrealistic. But I've known some WW2 vets, including My own father... And they are exactly like that. They don't talk about anything traumatic.
SO the writing is excellent. It handles a subject that can get a little crazy just enough to make sense.
The movie's pitfall is the 'hush and rush' direction and cinematography that is not very cohesive.
This movie had 15 different styles of photography and 3/4 of the way through, you are screaming "Just pick a style already!"
The directing is poor in that it does not set the actors up for success in a linear scene acting format. For example, in one scene the hero's friend disappears into thin air and in the next scene, he's watching Abbot and Costello. So the emotional continuity from scene to scene was mangled throughout the picture.
Does it warrant a remake? Not at all. It just makes it to good enough as it is. It does what a movie is supposed to do. Anything added would just be eye-candy.
The characters are so tightly written that at first blush, their actions seem contrived or unbelievable. However, if you really think about "What would so and so do?" You'll find the action and motivation makes sense.
For example, the gullible lead female is willing to believe not only the sailors but the person who lured her across country for a fake job. The low ranking sea man from the 1940's has problems suddenly coping with the 1980s. The angry veteran toward the end, obviously coping with PTSD, blows off his old friend.
Commentors above said, for example, the taciturn, unfriendly reaction of the old Vet in his 60s was unrealistic. But I've known some WW2 vets, including My own father... And they are exactly like that. They don't talk about anything traumatic.
SO the writing is excellent. It handles a subject that can get a little crazy just enough to make sense.
The movie's pitfall is the 'hush and rush' direction and cinematography that is not very cohesive.
This movie had 15 different styles of photography and 3/4 of the way through, you are screaming "Just pick a style already!"
The directing is poor in that it does not set the actors up for success in a linear scene acting format. For example, in one scene the hero's friend disappears into thin air and in the next scene, he's watching Abbot and Costello. So the emotional continuity from scene to scene was mangled throughout the picture.
Does it warrant a remake? Not at all. It just makes it to good enough as it is. It does what a movie is supposed to do. Anything added would just be eye-candy.