To Sum It UpFlags of Our Fathers jumps back and forth between three distinct periods in the lives of the heroes of Iwo Jima. Eastwood alternates the focus between the battle of Iwo Jima and the publicity tour with Hayes, Bradley and Gagnon, mixed with interviews with WWII veterans decades after the end of the war. The need to address each particular set of events is understandable; however the interwoven stories don’t flow seamlessly throughout the film. Some sequences are cut away from too quickly, while others are unnecessarily drawn out. The result is a bumpy, jumpy film that never completely covers any one of the film’s storylines.
Barry Pepper in "Flags of Our Fathers."
© DreamWorks PicturesAnother mark against
Flags of Our Fathers comes from Eastwood’s decision to bleach out the colors during scenes focusing on the fight between the Americans and the Japanese on the island of Iwo Jima. The reason for the decision has to be to lessen the impact of the horrors on the battlefield, which begs the question: why would Eastwood choose to tone down the graphic violence and not display it in a more realistic fashion?
Flags of Our Fathers is rated R and intended for adult audiences. The end result of washing out the colors is to make the brutal battle appear less violent, and that’s not remaining true to the real events.
Minor drawbacks aside, Eastwood and company have delivered an absorbing story which sheds light on the men featured in one of the most famous photos in history. The flag raisers disputed the fact they should be looked upon as heroes, yet all the men who fought for their country during the Battle of Iwo Jima earned the right to that title. Eastwood’s film gets that point across and does so without diminishing the importance of the Battle of Iwo Jima or the sacrifices by those who served in the military.
GRADE: B
Flags of Our Fathers was directed by Clint Eastwood and is rated R for sequences of graphic war violence and carnage, and for language.
