Ride with the Devil

Tobey Maguire is complete dog shit as an actor and if you want to watch dog shit talk all old timey, this is for you. The only interesting character in this thing is the black guy fighting for the south. Every time Jonathan Rhys Meyers character is on screen you want to fast forward because of how retarded he looks. Hey all you nerds out there who grow your hair long: you look retarded.

Admirable for its refusal to adhere to the black-and-white ideas of basic high school history. Ang Lee deserves credit for his nuanced and perplexed depiction of the Civil War. The vast, somewhat odd cast is an ensemble mosaic of families and neighbors torn. It's unfortunate that this historic scope is lost in the last act, muddled in favor of misplaced sentiment that resembles romantic comedy. There's just no excuse for the awkward and unlikely romance, nor "stubborn man with a baby" cliches.

Gloomy, opressive Civil War drama does have generally sturdy performances (especially Ulrich, who's never been better), but overlength, and a tendency to abandon any sense of historical context for the characters (and events they are living through), makes the film a fairly tough endurance test; Maguire's overdone 'aw-shucks' persona also seems an awkward fit here.

A good film. This should have done far better than it did at the box office. The story flows well, with some nice twists. It's really refreshing to watch a character develop, and still end up flawed.

The movie covers an interesting side of the war that's not often shown as much as the battles between south and north have been. It just really, really drags on and while I get that the story is focusing on the feelings, morals and losses of the individual characters rather than trying to portray the entire war, it's just sloooow. Also I cannot unsee Spider-Man and Hulk here. Nope. Sorry.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is riveting here.

Not sure why we need to be immortalizing Confederate guerillas, but okay. Also not sure why Criterion chose to release this film, but okay.

Quite good.

Similar to Cold Mountain maybe not as strong an ending, but possibly a better body to the film.

Really liked the beginning, Schamus really stretching his wings and feels correct, starts to lose me when the wartime melodramatic "dieing" starts, totally lost by the end.

Having to watch this in history class may have impacted my view of it slightly, yet I still didn't find this all that interesting or compelling. Overall, a bland film so dull that it rendered me entirely indifferent toward it.

It's definitely Tobey Maguire that holds this one back. I just can't take that dude seriously. His performance feels like a parody of Tobey Maguire but no, he's completely serious. But this does have good photography and some nice direction, so it's not all worthless.

A stirring story of civil war soldiers fighting on the losing side. Tobey Maquire fights for what he believes, and is an honorable soldier despite the chaos and overwhelming odds. The cast of characters continually changes as the local rebels are killed off. The story has some new perspectives on the war, also between races, neighbors and within families. Memorable performances. A story with a lot to say. Good music and filmed nicely. Well worth watching, but the love story and ending are weak.

64.500

If you know you're getting into an old-fashioned sort of Western/war film, with a sentimental streak, you'll be able to sit back and enjoy the beautiful shot compositions, and intriguing plot elements. Jeffrey Wright steals the film as Daniel Holt, holding the rest of the (younger) cast together with his air of seasoned maturity.

Some great war scenes, & lots of meandering story that i sometimes care about & other times, well, I'm waiting for blood. Jewel is somewhat lifeless, and a pretty girl, of which better use may have been made. Difficult to make much of an emotional investment in the characters.

This is one of Ang Lee's weakest films but is unfairly overlooked because it still contains some excellent Civil War scenes. The story can be meandering at times and the cast is unusual but overall it's not bad. The acting seems very uninspired in this which is the primary flaw.

Just about one pandering, melodramatic moment away from being something I could wholeheartedly recommend.

Ang Lee's civil war drama is visually striking and shows a side of the war that is too often overlooked - the fact that these normal men were killing their own neighbours senselessly because of political beliefs. The pacing is unbalanced, but the story keeps your interest and the 25 minute set-piece depicting a raid on a Union town is one of Lee's biggest directorial achievements.

Rushed to the theatre to see this on opening night and was deeply disappointed. A big part of it has to be my deep distaste for Mr. Maguire. I just didn't find the plot or the action compelling.