AP
March 14, 2001
By Christy Lemire, AP Entertainment Writer

Jean-Jacques Annaud apparently was so impressed with ``Saving Private Ryan,'' he not only wanted to duplicate it, he wanted to top Steven Spielberg's body count.

As director, producer and co-writer, Annaud has created in ``Enemy at the Gates'' an old-school World War II epic that's impressive in its vastness. The Battle of Stalingrad scenes are thunderous, bloody and bleak, as well they should be. But despite a strong cast and occasional flashes of creativity, the cat-and-mouse action thriller by Annaud - whose previous films include ``Seven Years in Tibet,'' and the Oscar-winning ``Black and White in Color'' - is boring.

Jude Law has a typically magnetic presence, though, as legendary Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev. It's autumn 1942, and as Vassili informs us in a melodramatic voiceover at the film's beginning, ``Europe lies crushed beneath the Nazi jackboot,'' one of many cringeworthy lines.

The Russians are getting decimated, and they need a hero. Propagandist Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) realizes Vassili is perfect: He's earnest, he comes from humble beginnings in the Urals, and he's a dead-eye.

Danilov convinces the Stalingrad front's top political commissar - future Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (a bit of a caricature in real life who gets a cartoony characterization by Bob Hoskins) - that writing about Vassili will give his people hope.

As Vassili's fame grows, the Germans realize they have a problem, so they send their top sharpshooter, Major Konig (Ed Harris), to take him out.

The showdowns between these marksmen should be the most suspenseful parts of the film. Granted, they do produce some moments, especially one in which the two snipers spy each other's reflections in pieces of glass that have fallen during a bombing.

But Konig doesn't enter the film for about 40 minutes, and he and Vassili don't pursue each other so much as they circle and stumble toward one another.

Konig also would have been a more formidable villain if his character had been developed more thoroughly. We never really know what drives him, let alone his first name. He mentions in passing that his son, also a soldier, died in battle. But his stoicism weakens him and undermines the drama.

``Enemy at the Gates'' also would have functioned just fine - better, probably - without a romantic subplot. Vassili falls in love with the smart, feisty Tania (Rachel Weisz), who's helping protect her neighborhood as a soldier.

Danilov also falls for Tania. But for all their individual talent, these actors create no romantic sparks. Danilov is too whiny to be a torrid, wartime love interest. And Vassili and Tania take part in what has to be the most unsexy sex scene ever between two gorgeous people. They grope each other on the floor, beneath a blanket, surrounded by rubble and snoring Russian soldiers. Who wants to watch that?

``Enemy at the Gates,'' a Paramount Pictures release, was co-written by Alain Godard. Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality. Running time: 130 minutes.