"why isn’t the Army surrounding Washington as the secessionists close in? Did they commit treason? Why?"
We're directly told the answer to this in the film. They've lost. They've surrendered. The Secret Service and a few die-hards remained loyal and attempt to stop the advance, but the military as a whole surrenders.
We're also told this is coming at the start of the movie, that it's going to be a race to Washington between the secessionist factions, because the loyalists are absolutely losing. That's the whole point of the protagonists' trip, they're trying to be the last people to photograph/interview the president before his inevitable (at this point) defeat and either trial/execution or murder/execution.
Also, feels a bit...incomplete to note Sammy's death without noting that Lee does exactly the same damn thing at the end of the film!
I did generally enjoy the film, but wonder if some of the reporters...hypocrisy, I guess? Was deliberate. Because throughout the movie, our protagonists never take a single action to interfere with what's happening in front of them, in any way, except taking pictures...unless a fellow reporter is involved, in which case they will act to try to help their fellow reporters. It was interesting and really made it feel like they were their own 'side' in the conflict.
Really liked this review. You make a ton of good points, especially about the Sammy character. As for me, I didn't take time to get into the plot holes, except maybe the most important one, which is "What is the point of journalists covering a war in which neither side apparently stands for anything?"
Thank you for this, it does give me something to think about. My teen years were spent in the light of Vietnam and I have watched scenes from real war as seen through the eyes of the likes of Wolf Blitzer, who was a phenomenal war reporter, and Richard Engle. I've seen enough and will not watch war movies. But the last few weeks I have heard enough about this movie to be curious just not curious enough to view it. Thank you for viewing it for me.
"why isn’t the Army surrounding Washington as the secessionists close in? Did they commit treason? Why?"
We're directly told the answer to this in the film. They've lost. They've surrendered. The Secret Service and a few die-hards remained loyal and attempt to stop the advance, but the military as a whole surrenders.
We're also told this is coming at the start of the movie, that it's going to be a race to Washington between the secessionist factions, because the loyalists are absolutely losing. That's the whole point of the protagonists' trip, they're trying to be the last people to photograph/interview the president before his inevitable (at this point) defeat and either trial/execution or murder/execution.
Also, feels a bit...incomplete to note Sammy's death without noting that Lee does exactly the same damn thing at the end of the film!
I did generally enjoy the film, but wonder if some of the reporters...hypocrisy, I guess? Was deliberate. Because throughout the movie, our protagonists never take a single action to interfere with what's happening in front of them, in any way, except taking pictures...unless a fellow reporter is involved, in which case they will act to try to help their fellow reporters. It was interesting and really made it feel like they were their own 'side' in the conflict.
Thank you for the review, w/ spoilers. I rarely bother with movies, but you have piqued my interest.
Really liked this review. You make a ton of good points, especially about the Sammy character. As for me, I didn't take time to get into the plot holes, except maybe the most important one, which is "What is the point of journalists covering a war in which neither side apparently stands for anything?"
Thank you for this, it does give me something to think about. My teen years were spent in the light of Vietnam and I have watched scenes from real war as seen through the eyes of the likes of Wolf Blitzer, who was a phenomenal war reporter, and Richard Engle. I've seen enough and will not watch war movies. But the last few weeks I have heard enough about this movie to be curious just not curious enough to view it. Thank you for viewing it for me.