Rescue Dawn is a good movie that gets great for about a thirty minute stretch, then concludes with a really sucky coda. For a Hollywood summer release about soldiers soldiering on, it is terrific. For a Herzog film, it is merely okay. One thing that really bugged me was Jeremy Davies doing the exact same schtick he did in Solaris. Once was cool, a second time means you are a hack.
Hey, why am I bitching? Rescue Dawn is a really great piece of no-bullshit work. That’s really Batman – I mean, that’s really Christian Bale being dragged behind an ox with his hands tied. That’s really Steve Zahn getting smacked in the face with kudzu vines. A double feature with The Naked Prey and you’ll never want to leave the city again. Nature? Bah!
Cool! Since “Rescue Dawn” is getting a wide release I figured it would be a bit more “mainstream” than your average Herzog film! But hey! It’s Herzog! It’s actually playing down the street from me and I want to try and see it before Friday!