There’s not enough ammo in this generic WWII thriller.
Six years ago, I praised the Afghanistan War movie “The Outpost,” which was well-paced, well-acted, and riveting. Six years later, I’m criticizing the WWII thriller “Lucky Strike,” which has no character development or the pacing it needs to get its hero out of danger. And amazingly enough, both movies were directed by Rod Lurie and stars Scott Eastwood and Taylor John Smith. So, it should be a good movie of the genre, but it’s too run-of-the-mill, unfocused, and boring to be as fresh as “The Outpost.”
“Saving Private Ryan,” “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Letters from Iwo Jima,” and “Dunkirk” are among the many great WWII dramas to show us soldiers with different perspectives. They’re not always supposed to be history lessons, but as an examination or urgency to get out of danger or see the horrors of war. “Lucky Strike” is quite unlucky in reaching that kind of altitude.
Eastwood plays an American soldier named John Castle, who finds himself behind German enemy lines during the Battle of the Bugle in WWII. His only recourse for safety is at the rally point in Elsenborn. Among his adventures, it’s snow cold outside, so he has to sleep in a nearby barn shivering and eating a raw egg as sustenance. When he kills some of the Nazis and steals their tank, he has a clear getaway. Until a dog gets in his way, so he has to make a turn and fall off a cliff and into the trees with bad CGI effects. Don’t worry, the dog is still okay. And periodically, there’s a white horse in the distance that tries to blend itself with the snow, although I don’t see what it’s suppose to symbolize here.
In my review of “The Outpost,” I said this: “Eastwood delivers a performance so stellar and distinctive, that you can already tell he’s living up to his father Clint’s expectations. He has the disposition, attitude, and dialogue to keep him going.” And in my review of “Lucky Strike,” I’m saying this: Scott has those elements, but they aren’t well-written. In fact, they’re quite flat.
The supporting cast also includes Colin Hanks as a colonel who gives John the orders into battle, Smith as an American soldier who is more than meets the eye (and the Lucky Strike cigarettes gives that away), and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as a grieving mother whom our hero visits at the beginning and near the end of the film. And out of all the supporting stars, only Smith has an interesting character study that keeps the thrills on tact, but that’s not enough to save the film.
Some of the elements lacking pay-off include a little girl whose parents were murdered by visiting Nazis. The hero is able to kill them, and he comes back to check on her asking how she’s doing. But even he says it’s a stupid question. And I guess the film doesn’t really care about her.
“Lucky Strike” is made by a talented filmmaker and features a talented cast, but the overall experience feels like it was made by a committee. I guess they thought it needed corny dialogue and CGI effects to liven things up at bit, and none of them are appealing. There’s a better WWII drama in very few theaters and on VOD called “Pressure.” That film is well worth your time, but this one isn’t worth rushing to the theaters to see.
