I remember seeing this film dropping on Netflix in the fall of 2022 and seeing people mostly praising it, especially for its technical side. It has been on my queue for a while, but when it got nominated for nine (!) Oscars, it jumped to the top of my queue as I always try to watch as many nominated films as possible before the ceremony. Of course, this review was written long after the ceremony, so we now know it managed to win four out of those nine nominations (Best International Feature, Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score), Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Production Design). Not too bad for Netflix. Anyway, there is another “twist” with this review, this is one of the rare ‘based on the book’ films, and I actually read the book some time ago. But I remember liking it; the book sucked you in and described the horrors of war well, especially the “meat grinder” process. Where (mainly) young soldiers are replaced by other young soldiers whilst this war goes on. I also, given the… nerd? Cinephile? All the above? Yes, you can call me all the things above; I watched the “original” film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which won Best Picture and Director that year! See, directors and producers in Hollywood, there is a clear cheat code for winning some Oscars! You just have to remake All Quiet on the Western Front! 😉

If only it were that easy, but it is a fascinating coincidence that both the original film and this “remake” managed to impress that much. Before we get into this one, let me give you a quick review of the 1930 classic because it will play somehow important part in this review later on. The 1930 film is still a great showcase of the brutality of war; it especially delves into the characters and “replaceability” portion of war well. However, it is a war film made in 1930, and the time was not as kind to this film as to many others from the same era, so it drags a bit too much. Its runtime of 152 minutes also isn’t helping. But it is still a solid film, 7/10.

Now the 2022 film focuses heavily on the technical side, from stunning cinematography to the score; I will discuss this in detail soon, as that seems to be a bit of a controversial topic. This film shows you everything in such a stunning way it’s hard not to watch it with amazement sometimes, especially; if you can stream it in 4K on a 4K TV. I could understand why it got nominated (and even won some) for the technical categories, as this film is visually stunning. Where it lacked; is the story/overall theme of the original book or even the movie from 1930.

Let me explain – we get the “meat grinder” element in this film in the first scene, and it was done/shot well. But everything after that felt like something we have seen before, many times. That is the one disadvantage of war films (and if you think about it, it’s pretty fucked up) that we saw so many of them over the years from so many different wars it’s hard for any of them to make an impact anymore. You still feel all the despair; you still feel the hatred towards the people on the very top who have all the time to talk details about while somewhere else entirely, young men die. But we became so desensitised to it all that it no longer packs that punch it should have. Also, I couldn’t help but think the people behind this film focused more on the technical side to make it stand out that way, and that is why I found the narrative element got lost a bit. So, I found myself in a weird situation, especially watching the original from 1930 and this movie back-to-back. I was bored more with the original but liked the story/overall narrative, and I liked this one from the technical/visual side but thought the narrative side wasn’t as impactful as the “original”.

Let’s talk about the soundtrack that managed to win the Oscar too. I am not ashamed to say I loved it, but it had to grow on me throughout the film. Because the first time it pops up (and I am, of course, talking about the “bass element”), it almost takes you out of the film as it sounds almost too modern. But the more time I spent watching the movie, the more I got into it. And in a sense, I wish the story wasn’t afraid to take such a massive risk because that would be one way to do it. If you think about it, whether you love or hate the soundtrack (and I have seen many who don’t like it), you notice it. It announces itself it won’t blend with other war movies’ soundtracks. And that (at least, I believe) was the point. It felt like Volker Bertelmann (the man behind it) had a realisation that if this movie has any chance of standing out, he needs to do something that hasn’t been done before in this genre. He took a big swing, and it worked. And I wish the film followed his example and tried something new-ish too.

I am and have always been a believer in judging something on its own merits. So even if I forget the film from 1930, All Quiet on the Western Front is a technically flawless film that managed to find something to make it stand out amongst the other war films. Unfortunately, that something wasn’t the most important part of any film, the story/narrative. And maybe, that’s the cruel irony of this film because even the movies (both this one and the original) and the book talk about how war never changes. And now, that was my main issue with this film, how nothing about it will surprise you. Is it really a fault with this film then or the war itself? Deep, I know, bet you weren’t expecting that 😉

Overall, All Quiet on the Western Front is a film that’s worth watching, especially if your broadband speed and TV can give you the 4K experience this film was made for. There is some chance that if you haven’t watched the 1930 film or never read the book, you may like it even more than me. I would still recommend this latest retelling of this famous novel that shows you how war never changes, using the same beats we can all expect from a war movie. And again, if you think about that sentence, how many different war films we’ve had because we have had so many wars just in the past 100 years, that’s fucking depressing.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke