It was just plain boring. The main plot could be summarized in one sentence: "Lincoln helps gets the 13th Amendment passed." The screenplay is written more like a history book than an actual movie. There were way to many characters and a total lack of character development to the point where it's very hard to care about any of the characters' motives. Even Lincoln (whose name is the title of the movie may I remind you) comes off as bland and barely characterized. There was so much opportunity to actually characterize Lincoln and focus on his personal life but the movie chose not to. For example, he suffered from depression and he may have been ill before he died. Never saw one scene that portrayed him as anything other than a pretty normal, healthy guy. Overall, the movie feels like those boring talking scenes in the Star Wars prequels. Don't get me wrong, the performances were great but the characters were so poorly written that they're easily forgettable. Plot Spoilers: There were a couple of subplots that go nowhere. For example, Lincoln's son joins the army even though his father tries to discourage him. After he joins the army, nothing ever comes out of it. There's no scenes of him in battle, no scenes focusing on whether or not he feels he made the right choice. Instead there's just one or two scenes where the son's wearing a uniform and standing near other soldiers. There was a very small subplot about Lincoln's relationship with his wife that sort of gets resolved at the end. There's basically one scene where Lincoln argues with his wife and brings up her mental health which was a scene I actually liked because it makes Lincoln seem more like a person than just a historical figure. Then there's another scene where they reconcile. Finally, the scene where we find out that Lincoln is assassinated is so poorly done. Basically: The film shows you a play and you're expecting Lincoln to get shot but instead a man runs on stage and yells the news that "The President has been shot". So much wasted opportunity for a powerful scene. The only emotional part about it was that the camera focused on his youngest son crying for about two seconds. I mean, I guess they were going for a Macbeth sort of thing where a character dies off-screen but that worked in Macbeth because there was actual build-up to it from the perspective of the killer.
Anyone who would rather watch a vampire-slayer is an idiot holy hell. What is wrong with you people, don't you appreciate history even a little bit?
Smatmat
I doubt it was historically accurate. Hollywood rarely is.....did hear it was mostly talking...which would be a rather dull movie for some. Different strokes and all...
I disagree with everything you said but I'm too lazy to say why.
tl;dr Lincoln was an awesome film and deserves all the awards it will get.
Aljosa23
>disagrees with everything I said >tl;drThe tl;dr is for my long explanation that I'm too tired to write up. :P I read everything you said. Shouldn't that be "tl;dw"?
I think you should watch it again. Its about the backroom deals and the compromises and tactics that were used to pass the bill. The point of the subplot with his son was that if they kept upholding the war instead of ending it there was a chance that he could have gone into battle and been killed.
As someone who think they appreciate history, I'm not going to lie and say this was that entertaining of a movie. There were some good, motivational parts but i don't think it was movie worthy. I would have preferred a documentary over this film. I'm still confused as to why it got such high ratings. Maybe giving it negative reviews would have been thought of as un-American?
If you aren't into history you wouldn't like it. I liked it and my History Buff friends loved it.YoshiYogurt
Well I'm a movie buff so I thought I would like it since it is pretty critically aclaimed. And from what I hear, it's not even that historically accurate. It's pretty much a portrayal of Lincoln from an "elementary-school propaganda point of view".
[QUOTE="YoshiYogurt"]If you aren't into history you wouldn't like it. I liked it and my History Buff friends loved it.Reed_Bowie
Well I'm a movie buff so I thought I would like it since it is pretty critically aclaimed. And from what I hear, it's not even that historically accurate. It's pretty much a portrayal of Lincoln from an "elementary-school propaganda point of view".
100% false. It's fully accurate. Everything about it. They even went out of their way to have Lewis use Lincoln's original pocket watch
I've never seen it. At one point I was about to, then I came to my senses and realized that I really didn't want to. I'm sure it's probably a fine movie. But the impression I'm getting is that it's your standard "Oscar bait" biopic, and I really never really cared for that kind of stuff. It's just not my cup of tea.
Looked boring, I wasn't going to watch it no matter what people said about it, maybe I'll try watching it when it's on cable or Netflix but that's about it. I mean I thought Skyfall was boring as ****, there's another one people wouldn't shut up about how great they thought it was, so I wasn't going to waste my time with Lincoln.
Excellent movie and certainly an oscar worthy performance (once again) by Daniel Day Lewis. They should just replace the statue on the award with a statue of him.
I've never seen it. At one point I was about to, then I came to my senses and realized that I really didn't want to. I'm sure it's probably a fine movie. But the impression I'm getting is that it's your standard "Oscar bait" biopic, and I really never really cared for that kind of stuff. It's just not my cup of tea.MrGeezer
Not so much a bio pic but rather a chronicle of the passing of an amendment. Honestly going in I thought 2 hours of talking would quickly put me to sleep, but it was so well acted and true to the historical characters that it was fascinating to watch.
If you want to be excited or entertained I suggest that nobody watches the film. Extremely long and drawn out. There are sparks of humour from Lincoln but thats really as far as it ever goes. It feels like a film that just plods along and doesnt do anything more.
I can't agree with the argument of "If you like history you will like/love this" because I am interested in history but yet as a film which is what it was, it wasn't very good. There isn't a part where you can really say "oh remember this part, it was amazing!".
Yeah, they totally should have included the part were Robert Lincoln went storming into battle after the rest of his platoon were killed and single-handedly won the Civil War.
I found it pretty good overall. Some of the political stuff went by a little faster than I could take in at first but I caught up with it. It wasn't wildly entertaining, but it was definitely worthwhile.
[QUOTE="YoshiYogurt"]If you aren't into history you wouldn't like it. I liked it and my History Buff friends loved it.Reed_Bowie
Well I'm a movie buff so I thought I would like it since it is pretty critically aclaimed. And from what I hear, it's not even that historically accurate. It's pretty much a portrayal of Lincoln from an "elementary-school propaganda point of view".
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I read some of the 'inaccuracies', and far as I could see they were mostly trivial. Tommy Lee Jone's character would've had a different accent was one.
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