Movie Review: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)

Genre: War Drama  

Director: Ang Lee  

Starring: Joe Alwyn, Steve Martin, Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart  

Running Time: 113 minutes  

Synopsis: After performing heroics during a firefight in Iraq, 19 year-old US Army Specialist Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) is on a two-week publicity tour of the United States along with his Bravo company members. In the lead-up to an appearance at the glitzy half-time show of a Dallas football game, Billy recalls the war experiences that led to death of his Sergeant "Shroom" (Vin Diesel). In the meantime a publicity agent (Chris Tucker) is trying to secure a movie deal for Bravo, the football team owner (Steve Martin) is eager to share in the glory, Billy's sister Kathryn (Kristen Stewart) wants to convince him to avoid re-deployment, and a cheerleader (Makenzie Leigh) shows a romantic interest.

What Works Well: This reflective drama delivers a blunt anti-war message with impressive visuals, while simultaneously saluting the soldiers dispatched to do the dirty work. Director Ang Lee seeks a sense of geographic disorientation among the Bravo team members, paraded onto a stage where they don't belong and exploited by wealthy men willing to underbid for unearned glory. Despite the surrounding razzmatazz, the clock is ticking towards the men's redeployment back to the hell of war, not that anyone on the home front cares beyond Billy Lynn's sister.

What Does Not Work As Well: More a message than a movie, the plot is directionless and never gains momentum. The Billy Lynn character provides insufficient weight to carry the narrative, and the collective group of soldiers is not much more than a compilation of banter and hijinks. The two most interesting characters are the mythology-inspired Shroom (already dead) and the grounded Kathryn (reduced to a couple of scenes).

Key Quote:

Billy: It's sort of weird, being honored for the worst day of your life.



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