Enemy at the Gates

ENEMY AT THE GATES —** — Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Gabriel Marshall-Thomson, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman, Eva Mattes; rated R (violence, gore, profanity, sex, brief partial nudity, ethnic slurs, brief vulgarity); — Broadway, Carmike 12, Century, Jordan Commons, Jordan Landing, Midvalley, Ritz. They are: Carmike Theaters (Carmike 12, Cottonwood Mall, Ritz 15 and Villa); Century Theatres 16; Cinemark Theaters (Jordan Landing, Sandy 9, Sugar House Movies 10 and Valley Fair Movies 9); Gateway 8 Cinemas; Loews Cineplex Cinemas (Broadway Centre, Midvalley and Trolley Corners); Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons.

For better or worse, the critical and commercial success of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" has led other directors to make their own, more "realistic" versions of the cliched war movie. As a consequence, the level of violence and gore shown onscreen has been upped a notch or two.

However, they seem to be missing the point, since the stories themselves haven't necessarily improved or gotten more realistic.

A high-profile entry is "Enemy at the Gates," a big-budget war thriller that sets up a nice little cinematic cat-and-mouse game but manages to fumble it with conventional, cliched and unrealistic storytelling.

But really, what can you expect from a film that doesn't even have the courage to credit its source material? (The title is taken from a book by William Craig, which addresses some of the same material.)

The setting is World War II-era Russia in the earliest days of the Battle of Stalingrad — the first real setback for the German Army, which had been running roughshod over most of Europe at that point.

At first, it appears the Germans will easily rout the Red Army, as the badly outmanned and undersupplied Russian soldiers are mowed down by their German counterparts.

That is, until the Soviets figure out that their battle strategies should include teams of snipers. Prompting the decision are the actions of young soldier Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a skilled marksman who manages to take out five German officers in quick succession. He's hailed as a hero, and his deeds are extolled by political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), who is there to witness them first-hand.

But Vassili is uneasy about his newfound notoriety and not without good reason. Sensing that the tide may be turning in Stalingrad, the Germans send their own assassin in to take him out: much-honored Major Konig (Ed Harris), who always seems to be one step ahead of Vassili.

Meanwhile, Vassili and Danilov find their friendship tested when they both fall for the same woman, Tania (Rachel Weisz), a soldier who's asked to be reassigned to the fighting.