Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)

Two Time Academy-Award Winner for Best Director, Ang Lee is back with 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'. And heartbreakingly, this is the weakest film by the prolific director to date. Despite sincere efforts, this War-Drama is a misfire!'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Synopsis: 19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.The biggest problem with 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' is its unappealing Writing. Jean-Christophe Castelli's Screenplay, which is based on the novel by the same name by Ben Fountain, trembles. Billy Lynn's struggle in the war zone & the after effects once he returns home, are barely engaging. The Writing doesn't hold you or move, unfortunately! Ang Lee isn't in form this time around. His Direction leaves a lot to be desired. Cinematography & Editing are fine. Art & Costume Design are classy.Performance-Wise: Joe Alwyn as Billy Lynn, is the sole saving grace. He delivers an excellent performance from start to end. He has the potential to go places, given the right scripts. Kristen Stewart as Billy's older sister, tries to make the most out of her limited role. Chris Tucker is okay, while Steve Martin is wasted. And Vin Diesel is as usual. On the whole, 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' is a poor show.

As a non American i usually find it hard to relate to USA anti-war films. They are usually filled with big macho guys, overly nationalistic and lacking genuine fear and failings.This is a great film. What a great performance from the leading man (Joe Alwyn) - could feel his sincerity right through every moment. Supported well by Steve Martin playing an unlikeable Texan business owner and also Kristen Stewart as the devoted sister trying to stop her brother returning to the battlefield. Vin Deisel did play the macho part who without any common sense throwing himself solely into the line of fire and paying the price...not sure if that would have happened too often in reality ?Anyway regardless of that this film showcases some great acting... I also loved the part where they are being parading at half time at the football stadium with Destiny's Child...the flashbacks worked well.The love interest was also played well by Makenzie Leigh another unknown to me but one to watch in the future.Id recommend this movie...hope there is a part 2 as the story appears only half finished...

The politics of war are incredibly complex, and the human cost is disturbingly high. There are no wonder why those who give up their lives to fight oversea are honored with great dignity. But the big question in this war drama directed by Oscar Winner Ang Lee is: Are we honoring these soldiers the right way? That is an idea that this film takes a dive in, but not with enough impact. Lee's approach to the absorbing topic is too shallow of emotional touch. The greatest accolade Lee acquires in this picture is allowing it to shine with a unique visual innovation, and that is shooting the film with an unheard-of frame rate of 120 FPS to capture the immense atmosphere of the war sequences. It is a technological achievement that powerfully shows how far Hollywood has advanced in technological. Seeing this movie at a theater with an unusual frame rate that high is an alarmingly tough get as there are only six theaters around the globe that include this, with only two of these theaters planted in the United States. Set in 2004, this follows 19-year old Billy Lynn (played by Joe Alwyn), an Army specialist returning home from active duty in Iraq with his fellow squad members. On the day of a Thanksgiving home game at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, Billy, honored as a hero for his duty, and his squad members are brought together on a victory tour during the halftime show. During the tour, Billy is hit with flashbacks of the tragedies that occurred during the battle in Iraq including the death of his friend Staff Sergeant Shroom (played by Vin Diesel) as opposed to the American citizens fantasized perceptions of what they think happened over there. Along the way, he finds his heroism manipulated by film producers Norm (played by Steve Martin) and Albert (played by Chris Tucker) who are trying to land a movie deal out of the events that squadron's faced.Based on the novel by Ben Fountain, this drama capitalizes on themes of patriotism and honor, and opens light on social issues that run between the grim realities of war and the distorted views of active combat by citizens back at home. The primary concern here deals with home civilians including the media exploiting the heroism soldiers acquire during active duty overseas, simply for our own personal gain. As disconcerting as it is, one thing this film proves is that unless you have been in active combat, you have little or no idea of what it is realistically feels like being in active combat overseas. Director Ang Lee makes an engaging point out of this concept. But alongside, the film also introduces these contradictions on how soldiers are celebrated by citizens for their active duty, yet people all over America continue to disdain war as an unnecessary bargain; an idea that the story never fully explores. From there on, the story slips into a jumbled mess and offers little emotional touch to the point where viewers are left with no impact. The film's emotional highpoints stand during the flashbacks of the title character and his squad fighting in Iraq which are powerfully shot and executed in authenticity. It's too bad that these scenes only make up a small portion of the near-two- hour runtime, while the majority the picture follows Billy and his squadron walking through the stadium during the halftime show with Destiny's Child performing and fireworks going off. If this manages to wring anything out of the story's framework other than its absorbing ideas, it is the performances, particularly Joe Alwyn as Billy and Kristen Stewart as his older sister, given the opportunity to flex her acting muscles. The rest of the cast offer some good on screen presences, operating with a sense of cynicism and humility. Looking for something Oscar- worthy though, you are probably better off looking elsewhere.Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a shallow war drama that fails to arrest viewers with its timely themes and Ang Lee's scattershot approach to an otherwise thoughtful examination of its eponymous character versus America's fantasized perceptions of war. Although the final product is disappointingly forgettable, some may admire Ang Lee's effort on embracing the film with his visual innovation. However, its a technological effort that is too early to introduce in major theaters at this point.

Not since The Hulk has there been a horrible Ang Lee movie based on a well known fiction book. This movie, the last major movie to be filmed in high frame rate 3d and 4k until the next Avatar movies come out soon, was destined for failure. And it shows. While it looks amazing in HD quality, the pace of the scenes are slow as mollasses and the acting is bad lip syncing like a Godzilla American dub. Some of the cheerleaders in this movie are very hot. I tried finishing the movie but the disc skipped so i returned it to Netflix. I suggest you skip this movie and watch Hacksaw Ridge instead.