Malick does not direct many films but he has enticed some excellent performances out of all star ensemble cast. The film lacks the raw energy and anger of his early work. This is however an interesting pre 9/11 critique of war. It is a bit to long and essentially a meditation on nature, primitive society and how we ended up with the industrial military complex. It never really pushes its analysis far enough towards a critic of the immediate causes of the war. None of the character offer anything of a class analysis of there predicament, although it is excellent illustration of solidarity in the face of the inequalities of war.