Missed Mark

nemy At the Gates is forged from a nugget of war story gold that should have made for a purely great film. Instead, the film's attempts to make actual history more moviegenic dilute its power.

History Channel buffs will be familiar with the film's subject material: During the German invasion of Russia, expert sniper Vasilly Zaitsev (Jude Law) became a national hero through the efforts of propaganda official Danilov (Joseph Fiennes, struggling against his underdeveloped role). Vasilly's skill as a sniper, and his iconic value to the Russian masses as a figure of courage and hope incited the Germans to send out master sniper Major Koenig to eliminate him.

Law follows through on the argument he made in The Talented Mr. Ripley for becoming Hollywood's next Hot White Male-this guy has many GQ covers in his future. Ed Harris plays his Nazi enemy with such steely intensity and chilled humanity that you'll wish he did more than just sit around aiming all day. Harris and Law share very few moments together on screen, but their presence on each side of the rifle scope is wonderfully tense.

Unfortunately, director and screenwriter Jean-Jacques Annaud apparently didn't feel confident enough in the strength of the taut storyline or the magnetism of the lead roles. The padding he adds on serves not only to distract from the main story, but even detracts from its characters.

The film's first battle sequence shows the extreme brutality of the Russian army leadership as they literally force troops into battle against the oncoming Germans. While the losses the Germans sustained there to Soviet troops were some hundred times greater than those of the American D-Day depicted in Saving Private Ryan, the battle seems like a somewhat extraneous addition to Vasilly's story-especially considering that the harrowing battle sequence will inevitably compare unfavorably to Spielberg's opus.

The movie's first moments, just before the opening battle, come close to making it work. As Vasilly stands in a crowded train of soldiers on its way to the front lines, he is suddenly transfixed by the sight of a woman sitting with a book in hand, a ray of beauty amongst the dark green mob of men on their way toward death. When the doors open she vanishes, quickly forgotten amid the carnage at the front. It is a telling moment: Such beauty is lost among the blood storm of war.

But the point is lost when that woman (Rachel Weisz) is brought in as a fictitious addition to the world of men and guns, becoming the wedge in a love triangle between Vasilly and Danilov. There are movies about war, and then there are romances set against the backdrop of war. This film tries to meld the unyielding themes of each angle, and never quite realizes the potential of either.

Great war films are about the violence men inflict upon each other, and the sniper is a figure that knows the face of death very well. But while it could explore the chillingly intimate relationship between a sniper and his unsuspecting prey, wring the psyche of a modest man who is idolized for killing people or explore the bond that develops between hunter and hunted, Enemy At The Gates sleeps through its shot at greatness.