Band of Brothers

I'm so far behind on this damn blog that the thought of even catching up seems ridiculously far-fetched. We'll see what happens though because I'm planning to see some new movies this weekend, and have seen some other ones, and I would really like to talk about them.

We've been slowing making our way through Band of Brothers by renting the blu-ray discs from our online rental service. It's one of those series that I really can't believe I have never watched before. I always meant to, I think just the length kept me away. It actually sort of worked out because watching it for the first time on blu-ray was a hell of an experience and probably make the experience that much more impressive.

There really isn't much to say about Band of Brothers that hasn't been said over and over again for the last however many years. The thing is pretty much the absolute definition of epic. I wasn't expecting it to be like this since it was an HBO series, not a theatrical movie but my god. The production value here is just phenomenol. Each episode usually features at least one massive war battle and each one is impressive. Often each one is more impressive than the last. The use of sound and visuals is pretty mind-boggling, especially when watching on blu-ray discs. Overall the series has wall to wall action that never fails to blown one's face clean off. 

The performances and characters are also top-notch. You have to give Band of Brothers credit because it has a ton of characters that play pretty major roles, and yet each one of them feels fully developed, with maybe the odd exception. Granted they had 10 hours of screentime to accomplish this, it's still an impressive feat when you look at the sheer number of characters. Plus it's cool to see David Schwimmer not playing Ross, although you can't help but just picture him as the character. It just reminded me of when Ross would throw a huge hissy fit really. Jimmy Fallon also pops up for about 2 minutes at one point to distribute ammo to the soldiers. By the time you realize it's him, he's pretty much already gone.

Each episode is great and there aren't any that I would call out as a weak entry in the series. I can't even really choose any highlights. I did enjoy the first episode that dealt mostly with the training. Anything in the snow was also great, if only for the visuals. The second last episode is definitely the most emotional, for reasons that I won't give away here just in case. I didn't know it was coming and it really helped the episode pack a huge emotional punch. Overall, not a weak link in the whole chain.

Band of Brothers is definitely the best war movie I've seen, although maybe calling it a movie isn't exactly fair. Either way it's fantastic and despite it's length, is definitely something I will be watching again.

9/10