Saints and Soldiers: The Void (2014)

07/13/2018 Poor dialog from below average actors. Zero excitement, zero suspense, lackluster storyline. Brand new tanks (no dirt/no wear/zero battle scars), as well the trucks, the uniforms, helmets, weapons etc. No unshaved faces, no beards, forever clean clothes. As war movies go, this is a complete FAIL. I do NOT recommend that you waste 2 hours of your life/movie watching time on this film. Bon Appetit

OK acting for the most part couldn't overcome corny, ham handed writing and plot, especially the the parts concerning racism. The actors spouting technical factoids about guns and equipment seemingly meant to impress WW2 nerds was dumb. The most egregious failings were the unrealistic appearance of equipment (fresh of the assembly line - no mud, dents or wear whatsoever), and uniforms (suede leather shoes fresh out of the box; no dirt, stains, smudges or rips on the clothes).The actors spend most of the movie freshly shaven until someone finally realized how ridiculous they looked. The racist guy goes from clean shaven to having 3 days growth in the middle of a scene. Amateur hour. I will say that Owens relating the experience of black units with combat experience being relegated to rear guard service and support duties was a common occurrence and a realistic touch.

If you come into Saints and Soldiers: The Void and watch it for what it is, overall you will be pleased.(1)The Plot/Dialogue: From beginning to end, the story definitely has direction, as you'd be pressed to find a scene where the narrative feels like it has stalled or is not moving along. Character development is somewhat lacking at the start, but towards the end I feel that Little does a decent job of filling holes. Ben Urie as Lt. Goss and K. Danor Gerald as Jesse Owens do commendable jobs and perform their roles at very respectable levels. Where lines and script may have been cheesy or written poorly, the superb acting of these two cast members definitely cover it up. In total, there are many parts where there could have been extra speech, or could have been rewritten, but nothing too bad that would deter you from watching the film. The "whole concept" from start to finish was nicely done.(2)Scenery/Setting: As always, Little does a magnificent job at taking the low budget and what little he has to work with and turning in a masterpiece backdrop. Everything from the prop guns, to the tanks, to the uniforms were period-correct and had a real, authentic look and feel. In my opinion, the explosions and special effects may not rival those on the big screen, but they were never anywhere close to looking fake. The blue/gray tint from editing really gives an old war-time look, which also adds to the realism. The only knock I have is some of the props would have benefited from a little dirt, as sometimes they looked to new and not battle-torn, but nonetheless impressive.Final Thought:Ryan Little has proved once again that he deserves a shot to direct a bigger budget film, albeit with a better script writer, and more well-paid actors. The scenery was outstanding and the special effects were done very well for the budget. If only there were deeper-voiced actors that seemed more battle-tested and a better dialogue for the script, I may have given this movie a 10/10. Not a game-changer, but a credible war movie that does not dishonor the genre.

This film illustrates the brilliance of the nascent Saints and Soldiers franchise and after watching The Void, you'll pray that more installments are coming.The first few scenes have some clumsy, cheesy dialogue that tries to develop the characters. That's on the director's shoulders. But stick around--the real character development and some quality acting comes once the shells and bullets start to fly.This is a compelling plot--an African American soldier is, through no fault of his own, thrown in with a couple of tank crews with a few men who don't want him around. I won't spoil a thing. If you can get through the first 20 minutes or so, then prepare for very good war story that shows what all men are made of in a foxhole.The score is fantastic, too. This doesn't rise past 8/10 because of the cheesy stuff early on and some improbable scenes during firefights (plenty of those, too).We can only hope that the S&S rights owners have many more such fine films in development.