One of, if not, the most boring war film that I have ever seen. Journeyman script, slow and plodding direction, and average performances. This movie takes less than two hours and makes it feel like four hours. It is slow, it is boring, the script has no depth and is pointless. This film is not a testament to the military and the plight of the soldier during the trench war of WWI. It is one of those anti-war films that are so popular with the liberal left who are always looking to condemn and belittle the military.Not recommended.

From the opening till close I forgot about everything else and was captured by the perfect presentation of what would be my favorite war I have seen for quite a while.Why this is not screening with the same amount of attention as other lesser war films that show a more comedic approach, this film is detailed and dark yet still maintaining a sense of innocence to capture even the most anti War film viewer. Worthy of 10 stars I could watch a season of this for sure! Hint HintWish I could have seen more from Stephen Graham (Trotter) however and that is why only 9 stars. He was why I watched the film in the first place but although glad he made me find such a beautiful film I definitely wished for more screen time for Trotter!

Just got bored with how hard war was for upper and middle class officers. I'm no socialist, but I'm sick and tired of the toll it took on poets and authors. Any film based on their memoires or scribblings can never ever truly capture the horror of WW 1. Many of the lower ranked officers and NCO's deserve acclaim, their losses were proportionally as high or higher than the rank and file. The higher ranks never came to terms with their favoured cavalry was now obsolete, that men can't break through trenches that have well sighted machine guns. They played the final card - attrition, every man was expendable. Awful tactics, but worked eventually.

Journey's End is an unexpected war film focusing on a particular push by the Germans almost five years into a stalemated front in France. The lives already lost on both sides approach a million and it will take even more before Germany is defeated. The so called Spring Offensive by Germany is depicted here and it's brutal. Insidious in the long wait prior to the final horrific destruction of the Allies forward trench. The movie expertly weaves tension in it's story of a fresh, quite young, officer who proves to be utterly brilliant, yet is dead within his first five days. It is the human drama here that grabs the viewer and won't let go. It is palpable in it's intersection of brutality and humanity. This is extremely realistic and reverent to the bravery of men put in a hopeless situation. They know reinforcements, or their only chance, is not coming, and worse, they know the enemy is massing for an all-out assault on a particular day. Yet they have to remain steadfast with orders to hold out. This is a powerful and, often, painful movie to watch. It is reverent in the depiction of men standing firm in outrageously poor conditions. I think it should be seen as a graphic reminder of the human cost of the human cost of war. Especially when some absolutely insane decision is made to hold a front that can't be held with the equipment and manpower present. This is a brilliantly poignant film celebrating bravery and condemning poor decisions from the top too often flippantly decided upon. All in all...if there must be a war there is not really anything on either side that can be called "acceptable loses". Wars cost the ultimate human price, period, and this film's story is a prescient today as it was a hundred years ago. A strong recommendation with total excellence in production and acting.