Member review

Enemy at the gates is a different sort of war film for its focus on characters and relationships. The film is filled with clever action scenes that go beyond the usual onlaught of explosions that have me tune out, but it is also filled with engaging characters and romantic drama. And while the attempt at a love triangle is quite limp (although when you start shipping Vassili and Danilov, it gets way more interesting), it is noteable that Rachel Weiszs's character gets to be more than just the love interest - having her own agency and actions. The film also has a brilliant antagonist in the form of Erwing Konig (played by Ed Harris). Konig serves the perfect match in sniper smarts to Vassili, creating those engaing sniper scenes. Overall, Enemy at the gates is a good war film for people who don't like war films (me.)