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Personally, I find Enemy to be an admirable, character-driven suspense thriller that gives us some interesting and unconventional views of World War II. It borrows rather heavily from Saving Private Ryan in its opening sequence. And composer James Horner could be sued for plagiarism in that the film's main motif is almost a note-for-note copy of John Williams's theme for Schindler's List. But these weaknesses are overcome by uniformly strong performances and suspense scenes that surpass anything in the Mission: Impossible films.

Vassili is an unusual and engaging war hero. He's not a cookie-cutter, flag-waving American crying "Freedom". Law plays him as an uneducated, frightened, insecure human being who earns our respect by enduring difficult pressures, demonstrating patience and discipline, and doing what he can to provide an example of valor for his disillusioned countrymen. He isn't driven by personal revenge. He isn't some silhouetted icon of myth and legend. He does his job because he wants to be a responsible soldier. And his opponent, Konig, is not just a cold, calculating cartoon, but a human with flaws and personal grief, striving to conceal his wounds. Watch how Harris portrays Konig in the inevitable final confrontation. It's not your typical showdown. It is a memorable moment between two human beings who know each other as well as they do their fellow soldiers, even though they have never met.

Judging from the mainstream reviews, the less said about Exit Wounds the better. Unfortunately, most audiences don't take the time to heed reviews, and this action movie has resurrected Steven Seagal as a box-office champion.

The U.S. Catholic Conference concurs with most critics, saying "the lack of coherent plot is mind-numbing as is the savage display of brute force, gunplay, and explosions." Michael Elliot of Movie Parables praises the "impressive stunts and special effects which are generously spread throughout the film." Beyond that, he says, "the semblance of any brain wave activity appears to have come to a screeching halt." Baehr at Movieguide seems somewhat impressed, however. He calls it a "surprisingly good police thriller" while he objects to its violence, language, and nudity. Baehr writes that "Seagal seldom has given so assured a performance … He shows the kind of magnetism that made him an action star in the early 1990s." Mainstream critics tried to outdo each other in their creative putdowns of the movie. Cody Clark at Mr. Showbiz writes, "In fairness, the movie is more or less competent for being what it is. Of course, I could say the same of most brick walls—but I'd hardly recommend that you pay eight bucks to sit in front of one for two hours."

Note: Last week, I promised to review critical responses to The Dish and Memento, currently in limited release. Unfortunately, not enough critics have written about these pictures yet. Next week, there should be plenty of reviews on both films.

Next week: Provided enough critics catch up with them, we'll look at critical responses to The Dish, Memento, Heartbreakers, and more.

Jeffrey Overstreet is on the board of Promontory Artists Association, a non-profit organization based in Seattle, which provides community, resources, and encouragement for Christian artists. He edits an artists' magazine (The Crossing), publishes frequent film and music reviews on his Web site (Looking Closer), and is at work on a series of novels. His work has also appeared in Christianity and the Arts magazine.

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March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45