Badlands director Terrence Malick returns to the silver screen after a very lengthy hiatus (his last film was 1978's Days of Heaven) with this World War II epic based on the James Jones novel. I'm not the first critic that will compare this film to Saving Private Ryan, nor will I be the last. Spielberg took a straight forward approach with a film that is both brutal and patriotic; whereas, Malick takes the cerebral route.

Which film is better? In my opinion, Saving Private Ryan is the more effective movie. It was more plot-driven and seemed to flow more smoothly. As good as The Thin Red Line is at times, it seems to meander and doesn't offer as much of an emotional core.

It's hard, at times, to feel for the men in Malick's film because there is no emotional connection. Even though this film offers more dialogue than Saving Private Ryan, it doesn't offer as much character. There are top notch performances, namely from Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas and Ben Chaplin. The rest of the star studded cast, including Sean Penn, John Travolta, George Clooney, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson, basically float throughout the story.

Malick shows enormous amounts of restraint with this cast which, at times, actually hurts the film. As expected, the film is a visual stunner and does deliver plenty of stunning images, just not as consistently as Saving Private Ryan. Still, it's far from being a dud. The battle scenes are intense and offer an inside look at the utter confusion and horrific brutality of war. Although it's not the definitive WWII film of 1998, it is a passionate attempt from a filmmaker who will, hopefully, make another movie in less than twenty years.