In a similar manner to how one gets bored when watching a really long play. It's not bad by any means, but it's a dry affair. To be fair though I don't think this movie was really meant for me as I like my "war" movies to be rather visceral. With my golden standard of WW1 movies being Paths of Glory and Lawrence of Arabia. It's not entirely fair to compare Journey's End to those kind of movies as this is very much a closer/intimate kind of movie. The story is very much a sort of British stiff upper lip approach as it follows officers of Section C, 6 days before the German Spring Offensive. The movie immediately becomes a character study about dealing with trauma rather than a "war" movie and so there's a lot of talking and drama but not much action. You don't spend much time with the average troops nor the Germans as the entirely of the movie mostly jumps between its officer's point of views in their small officer room. The camerawork has a tendency to zoom in and use profile shots of its officer characters for most of the movie. While this lends itself to the rather claustrophobic approach of the trenches it aims for, after a while it becomes rather dull as no other shots really appear in the movie until the end of the trench raid sequence. The best scene in my opinion is apparently one where they go off script a little from the play and that's the Trench raid. There's a build up and anticipation to the raid and it climaxes as a messy brief affair that works in its favor as a payoff to that scene. The scene's action comes in brief half completed clips almost how life mimics the rush of adrenaline as you try to recall things while under stress. This works brilliantly in the movie's favor and I wish they did something similar for its ending.While they try to do something similar in terms of suspense building for the ending. There isn't really a payoff to the build up other than a reference to an earlier dream sequence and a small showing of the biggest killer of the war - artillery. While the artillery barrage is interesting its almost complete lack of gore makes it feel rather lackluster. The lack of a follow through by German troops outside of the very end in a casual mop up manner,, also sort of robs the film of any kind of satisfactory payoff. Since the most important scene in the movie takes place off camera as we flash forward to after the events. Thus the movie ends with a historical note crawl of how many casualties were taken in the German Spring offensive of 1918 but we barely feel its impact.This in turn kind of makes the movie more of a character study with no real need to actually have been set in WW1 other than that war is looked upon by contemporaries as a wasteful war. Highlights however do include a well done cast with no weak points and a well done production value as the uniforms as well as the trench itself looks fantastic. So is it a good movie?It feels like a good play that was made into an okay movie.I would recommend at least one watch if you're interested in the subject matter or love plays, but I would be hard pressed to watch it a second time myself.

Solid war movie. Was nothing overly original, however the acting was great. There is a real sense of impending doom that makes it very palpable. I found my anxiety rising as move progressed. Couple characters lacked real development, but those who were fully developed were engaging. It was at times difficult to tell what was going on as it was very chaotic camera work, which was the point to put you in their minds.

I want to start by saying that this film should not have been given the R rating. There is less fighting than in most superhero movies and no gore. It is, however, very distressing. Because it's very very good. It left me shaken and stayed with me for a long time. I felt it work not only on mental and emotional, but also on sensory level. There is no title and no credits in the beginning. The soldiers and officers start marching towards the front line, the camera focuses on faces, such melancholy in the eyes. And the music comes in - a low string melody that filled my whole being with the sense of dread. It never lets go. The score is absolutely brilliant. As is the acting. Especially the acting. Sam Claflin plays Captain Stanhope in whose PTSD "P" stands for not just "post", but "present", "persistent", "pervasive". The horror he's seen in 3 years at war is compounded by responsibility for those under his command with very little control over their fates. He barely eats or sleeps, but drinks practically all the time and lashes out at those closest to him. Yet it gradually becomes clear that while other officers and higher ups have detached themselves from those underneath them, he can't and won't. His decency and guilt is what's tearing him apart. It's a heartbreaking, riveting, Oscar caliber performance. But to be fair, if there's ever a film deserving a SAG Best Ensemble award, this is the one. Paul Bettany is great as calm and calming Osbourne. Asa Butterfield - perfect as naive Raleigh. Ditto Tom Sturridge as falling apart ex-playboy Hibbert, Stephen Graham as simple, always eating Trotter, Toby Jones as Mason the cook, much more than a comic relief as he witnesses what wasn't meant for him to see, Andy Gathergood as Sergeant Major who has barely any lines, but whose eyes say so much. In fact, everyone's eyes. This is something that cannot be achieved on stage - close ups on eyes that silently scream what societal norms don't allow to be said out loud.There is a saying that goes something like this, "When one person dies, it's a tragedy. When thousands do, it's statistics." The power of this film is that when "Spring Offensive" statistics appear on the screen in the end, it feels like 700,000 tragedies.

bRILLIANT ACTING OF INVOLVING FILM, THAT PORTRAYS THE REALITIES OF WAR

Extraordinarily brilliant performance from Sam Claflin with beautifully nuanced performances from the rest of the cast. Outstanding.

Great First world war drama based on a stage play. The film is set largely in the trenches in France during the spring of 1918. Not your usual war film with guns blazing, but a drama based on the soldiers experiences of the trenches, and their planned attack on the front line. The ending is a bombardment of explosions and gunfire, and leaves you with an account of the numbers who died in the Great War 100 years ago. A poignant reminder of the millions who lost their lives.

I don't normally review films, but I was devastated and affcetewd by this film and wanted to add my voice to those saying it's a work of art. Right from the start you know things aren't going to end well, and Asa Butterfield's wide-eyed innocence and excitement at being on the front lines are setting you up for tragedy later on. This tale of a company of men waiting for almost certain death is raw and at times hard to watch. But the cinematography is gorgeous, the lighting and sound enhance the growing sense of dread. The soundtrack is tense, the whole thing feels real. But it's the performances - even Asa Butterfield, who you don't expect to see tackling work of this intensity, pull it off incredibly. This isn't a feel good film in any way, but you come out blown away and you know you've been skillfully educated about teh horros of war by a team of passionate craftsmen and performers.

Recent WW1 movies have struggled to hit their mark. War Horse was the best despite its over polished finish. This is pitch perfect. Gone is the lazy edge of revisionist cynicism. Instead the despair, the waste is laid out in claustrophobic empathetic detail. It's a famous play, which makes character development and acting vital. Fortunately the best of British has been brought to bear, to furnish this tale of epic human tragedy an individual human touch. The squalor, the humour, the honour, the life and love and hate. All of it turning slowing to death before our eyes....

Not an easy watch. The claustrophobia and squalor of the trenches is re-created. What is missing is what it must have smelled like. The play by R C Sherriff has been filmed quite a few times, and this addition is one of the best. The tense relationships between the officers is beautifully acted. Asa Butterfield comes of age as the young lieutenant Jimmy Raleigh - and is perfectly cast.

This is a superbly-acted play about life in a command bunker during the final stages of the Great War. It has no special effects, no gore and almost no battle noises. Instead we are left to work out for ourselves what is happening. And we realise we are seeing the British Army at the very end of its resources, for here are men who should never have been drafted, because they are either too old, too young or not fit to command. The sense of hopelessness, inevitability and resignation are palpable. The men know they will die and the only thing they can hope for is to die well, for their country and without dishonour. It sounds bleak - as it should be - but I have never seen finer acting.

Riveting, unmissable, edge of the seat film. Tense and claustrophobic with extraordinary performances all round.

What's more interesting about Journey's End is its detail.

The movie is very strong stuff, offering proof that Sherriff's play is unjustly neglected.

It's like a handsomely constructed, old-fashioned item of furniture, the sort of well-crafted drama that's fallen out of favor but still captures your admiration.

Playing young men facing possible, even probable, doom, the actors are magnificent.