MovieChat Forums > Dogfight (1991) Discussion > I just finished watching this and...

I just finished watching this and...

posted 16 years ago by Trailer-Park-Boy
9 replies | jump to latest

It was mediocre and nothing I would ever watch again. The unecessary swearing really turned me off of the movie, I know a lot of people who swear a whole ton, but these guys did it so unconvincing, its like if it wasnt a movie you would think they were acting, it was just bad im sorry. Not to mention Anthony Clark did not one bit fit the role he played, that seriously was a huge mistake.

I also think the main character played by "River" was really unlikeable, I just couldn't warm up to him as a character.

Rose was the only likeable and convincing character in the whole movie.

Plus the whole scene at the war happened so damn fast I wasnt sure if it was just a dream he had but NO it actually went from them running away from bombs to him suddenly on a bus, what the hell.

And the ending? that was so abrubt, he has a conversation that was semi-meaningful with a few random guys, then when he goes to see rose it ends, like seriously. I know some of you feel he didnt need to say anything and its just supposed to be loose ended. In this case it didnt work that well.

I know you guys probably disagree but yeah thats my thoughts.

"Daisy Daisy Give me Your answer true" - Hal (2001: A Space Odyssey

[–] Lisa-Marie666 16 years ago

Wow my opinons the total opposite of yours. I totally fell in love with Rivers character, yeah maybe it was cus River was playing it, and i might not feel the same if it were someone else, but anyway i love this movie.

[–] BethH24 15 years ago

The point of the movie was that Eddie was arrogant at the beginning, and Rose was very shy, and by the end, Eddie had helped Rose to come out of her shell, and Rose helped Birdlace to become a better person, and they fell in love. It's a lovely film.

[–] GimmeSomeSkin 15 years ago

i agree with Lisa-Marie666 I LOVE this movie..I probably wouldnt like it as much if somebody else was playing Riv's part..He made me fall in love with this movie!

Oh jeez, now I have to watch it, hehe.
<3

My Guardian Angel, River Jude Phoenix

[–] StarrySkyWaltz 15 years ago

I'm not sure if this film can be fully appreciated by people who aren't passionate romantics. <3

[–] fernandes-e 15 years ago

Well, I don't think River's character was meant to be very likable, I mean, he was playing a macho, nineteen-year-old marine, surrounded by his macho friends. I think what the director wanted to do was bring Rose into his life to show him that maybe there was more to life, to himself than what he thought. She pushes him to question the way he acts and maybe even grow up a little bit. She plays a slightly maternal character in this sense.
In the end, he comes back to her not necessarily because he's in love with her, but because being in the war, losing his friends forces him to once again question his mentality and values, and obviously, it forces him to grow up and realise what is really important, and this hurts him. This is why he goes back to Rose, he needs her to take care of him after such a shock.
So, in my opinion, this film does a lot more than tell a love story : by showing us a nearly real-time evening with this couple, it captures a beautiful moment in youth that I think many can relate to, a night that we would want to last forever due to its perfection and fragility, and the knowledge that it may very well be the last one like it.
More subtlely, it explores masculinity, machoism and peer-pressure among young men, gender roles, and it also has quite a bit to say on the effects that war can have on a person and on society.

Folie n'est pas déraison, mais foudroyante lucidité.

[–] ellie246 15 years ago

It was lacking in some areas but the acting was unbelieveable. And it's given me a lifelong fandom of Lili Taylor.

It's my favourite River film but I agree, unless you're a hopeless romantic, it won't do anything for you.

[–] cristalle1 15 years ago

Very well stated.

[–] Trailer-Park-Boy 15 years ago

Im capable of appreciating this film, but it seemed kinda phony and had a totally cliche plot

"The Flux Capacitor, its what makes time travel possible." - Doc Brown

[–] katt001 14 years ago

I'd have to disagree about it being either phony or cliche. I'm not aware of many movies where men have a "dogfight", or movies where a hot guy falls for an only OK-looking girl, or where two people have a beautiful night together right before one of them leaves for war, or a war movie with literally one war scene, etc etc. Not sure where you're seeing the cliche or the phoniness.