'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' Review

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk accompanies Bravo Squadron, a group of Iraqi war heroes, as they're honored at a special Thanksgiving halftime show in Dallas. Academy Award winning visionary director Ang Lee experiments shooting with a 4K 3D camera in 120 frames per second, and while I saw the film in standard frame rate but could still notice subtle differences in the camera used. Lee's known for his incredible visuals but I found Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk to look a little stale.

The cinematography and story are both bland and Lee's direction's somewhat lacking this time around and pales in comparison to his work in flicks like Life of Pi. Jean-Christophe Castelli makes his screenwriting debut adapting Ben Fountain's best selling novel and I'm not sure if the reason the story was so uninteresting was due to the source material or lackluster transition, since I haven't read the novel, but either way Castelli's responsible. I will however commend Castelli for building authentic brotherhood among Bravo Squadron, but outside of that Castelli has difficulty interweaving the major themes and juggling the various storylines.

Joe Alwyn makes his acting debut as Billy Lynn and handles the role well, balancing the more emotional material with a nuanced quiet personality. Kristen Stewart plays Billy's concerned sister and brings passionate sentiment to her limited screen-time. Vin Diesel and Steve Martin both have small supporting roles and are decent stand-ins for the caricatures drafted up. There's some pretty awful acting to be found in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk just about everywhere else though.

If you ever want to experience approximately two dull hours of U.S. soldiers at a football game, I'll just say that three of the six people in the theater left within the first thirty minutes, then maybe this is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk because it lacks a compelling story, interesting characters, any notable performances, or engaging direction.

Film Assessment: D