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YMMV / All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

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  • Complete Monster: General Friedrichs is an egomaniacal, slovenly excuse for a "soldier" who believes war to be a glorious thing with which he will earn fame. From his luxurious mansion where all his needs are met, Friedrichs leads the bloody war effort against France while he whines how weak his fellow Germans are and blames "social democrats" for the ruination of society. When Germany and France agree to a ceasefire which will be implemented at 11 o'clock, an enraged Friedrichs refuses to go down as a "coward" and orders his entire army to make a suicidal rush against the unsuspecting French front line at 10:45, using the last fifteen minutes before the armistice to rack up as many bodies as he can. Any men who refuse to march are immediately executed by Friedrichs as traitors, and at the end of the day, Friedrichs' terrible handling of the war and his army leads to pointless hundreds of deaths on both sides of the conflict.
  • Hype Backlash: After an unexpected 4-category sweep at the 95th Academy Awards that resulted in some Award Snubs (such as John Williams for the soundtrack of The Fabelmans and Roger Deakins for the cinematography of Empire of Light), a lot of American film enthusiasts soured on the film.
  • Signature Scene: The opening credits sequence, tracking a military jacket, from it being taken off a dead soldier until it is eventually re-issued to a new recruit, is easily the most talked about and memorable bit of this particular adaptation.
  • Spiritual Successor: To "Charley's War" from Battle, which the movie's finale scene can be compared to the Snells' pointless charge on German line despite the upcoming ceasefire in the comic.
  • Suspiciously Similar Song:
    • One of the main leitmotifs of the film heavily resemble "Stone in Focus" by Aphex Twin.
    • The score also seems to nod to the intro of Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms" at several points.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Two and a half hours of young men dying cruel and pointless deaths in an even more pronounced manner than previous versions will not be to everyone's taste.

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