YMMV / Passchendaele

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• Anvilicious: David is thrown onto a massive cross made out of timber thrown out of the trenches when an artillery shell explodes near him. Dunne has to carry the cross (and David) across the battlefield, like Jesus.
• Fridge Logic: Why would a military recruiter leave his job and travel all the way to Europe to apprehend a single soldier?
• Narm:
  • The sex scene with Mike and Sarah in the bombed-out building. It's so out-of-left-field that they would choose to bang there amidst the noise of exploding shells and screaming men that it becomes hilarious.
  • The obvious "Christ" symbolism when Dunne carries David while he's suspended on a cross made of wood and barbed wire just comes off as more corny than meaningful.
• Nightmare Fuel: Blood, gore and rats crawling out of the mouths of soldiers are just the beginning.
• Romantic Plot Tumor: For a movie that supposedly focuses on the British/Canadian's struggle to take Passcheandaele from German forces, the romance between Mike and Sarah is just totally unnecessary and takes up 3/4 of the story.
• The Scrappy: David Mann. He's supposed to represent the naive heroism that drove young guys like him into the war, but his character just comes off as more whiny and insecure than anything. Near the end of the movie, he charges after a group of fleeing Germans without his gun, causing himself to get nearly killed by a shell, and Dunne to get killed while rescuing him.
• Signature Scene: The final battle between the Canadian and German troops near the end of the movie. The scene perfectly captures the horrors of close combat in World War I. Soldiers on both sides are seen punching, stabbing, slashing, and beating each other to death, all while a young boy on the German side watches on in terror. The scene is so memorable that it inspired the opening scene of "Battlefield 1"'s campaign.
• Tear Jerker: The end credits, which play over footage from the actual Battle of Passcheandale and an appropriately stirring track by Sarah Slean and Sarah Harmer.
  • One brief shot shows a child in a German army uniform.
  • Plus, the death of the main character is always sad.
• Values Dissonance: Intentionally invoked. A lot of characters portray the war as glorious and noble, often outright shaming young men to enlist. After all, what is better than to die senselessly in the trenches of the Great War for king, empire and God (in that order), especially if you yourself are too old to fight and have to encourage those young cowards instead?

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