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Gods and Generals is the second part of the Ted Turner-produced Civil War trilogy (it’s the prequel to 1993’s Gettysburg) — and it feels like it’s all three parts rolled into one. The actors did a good job with the script they were given, but there’s only so much they could do to save this movie. The only thing that could have saved it would have been a good editor.
It focuses on the early years of the war — when the South still had a chance to win — and on the generals who were leading the southern armies. The movie does an admirable job of explaining why so many of the officers and enlisted men left the Union army and fought for the South, but it takes forever to do it. As a matter of fact, it seems to take forever to do anything.
The battle scenes are epic in proportion, but they never convey any emotion or drama. At times, it appears that the only reason some scenes are in the movie are to allow one of the cast members to deliver a famous line.
On the positive side, Robert Duvall is a much more believable Robert E. Lee than Martin Sheen was in the first installment of the trilogy. Jeff Daniels likewise turns in a performance that made me forget about Dumb and Dumber — and that’s a first for me. The historical perspective is also nearly dead on.
This should have been a really good movie. It has all the elements of an outstanding docudrama, but it falls short of its potential.
