Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)

44% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 158 reviews)

Runtime: 113 minutes

Directed by: Ang Lee

Starring: Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart

From: Several different companies

I am as conflicted w/ this movie as Billy Lynn was w/ his predicament.

The fall of 2019 I was able to see Gemini Man in 4K (in a Dolby Cinema, no less), 60 frames per second and 3D; the effect blew me away and it definitely elevated that film for me. I am sure it's not as good a time in a “lesser” format and the same has to be true for Billy Lynn. As I was nowhere near the few cinemas that showed this in 120 fps and until last night was unable to see this on a 4K TV playing a 4K disc in a 4K player... thankfully due to someone I know I was able to experience this in the best manner possible. High frame rate for certain has a different look and I'll never fault anyone's brain for rejecting it (as I've known people who felt that way); it does not negatively impact me. As of now hardly any filmmakers have even tried to shoot feature films in HFR or better utilize the abilities of a 4K player. Of course, I realize that would require many terabytes of storage for a motion picture-among other issues-so I suppose it'll still be awhile until there's more than just random people on YouTube shooting nature/city footage or them sitting down and talking about tech/showing off their movie collection in 4K.

Anyhow... now that I finally went on this long halftime walk, I wish this would not have been so uneven for me. Based on a novel I've never read a word of-but I understand is relatively faithful-it covers the titular Billy Lynn as he and his small Bravo squad are on tour during a break from a tour of duty in Iraq... he did a heroic act during a firefight and was awarded a Silver Star. Much of it is Thanksgiving as he and his mates are at a Not Dallas Cowboys football game (the Cowboys have played on Thanksgiving for decades now) and will appear during a big halftime show... involving Destiny's Child. Of course, while the songs Lose My Breath and Soldier-which were LONG ago forgotten by me-are heard, the ladies who portrayed Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce are never shown from the front; that came off as being kind of goofy.

When the movie worked for me, it was when the focus was on Billy Lynn's conflicts. He was a screw-up before he joined the military, where it seemed as he was a good fit. His sister does not wish for him and the rest of Bravo squad to go on another tour of duty for a variety of reasons; in addition, his deed still was not enough to save his superior and no one back in America quite understands the horrors he has experienced. I can't do much complaining there nor the performance of Joe Alwyn; this was the first time I saw him act and I was impressed. He is more than just the boyfriend of one of the world's biggest stars. In a cast with a bizarre mix of talent (Steve Martin, Chris Tucker and Vin Diesel?!), he shone brightest, along with Kristen Stewart as the sister and Makenzie Leigh as the Not Cowboys cheerleader he has a few hour fling with. In addition, the Iraq scenes were typically pretty good.

Regrettably, this also has some dumb moments, an important character who was always a jerk to me and I never warmed up to (was this the intent? Presumably not) and I wish there would have been more Iraq footage or scenes with Billy's whole family and less stereotypical nonsense w/ some of his squad, the subplot of their heroics possibly being turned into a movie, or the strange decision for the boys to have multiple conflicts with... stadium security? Yes. It is quite disappointed for me to be so conflicted with the movie-as a good amount of it does work. It's disappointing that this would swing wildly from a dopey brawl to a nice emotional scene between brother and sister in just a few minutes (to list the most blatant example); therefore, a rating just above average of 3 stars seems like the right way to go.

All that said, there are no regrets concerning my viewing of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Even if HFR is not the future of the motion picture industry, I am glad that high-profile directors are experimenting w/ it and I wouldn't mind seeing others at least make the attempt. One last thing, for those that are familiar with the National Football League. They were unable to use official NFL trademarks; thus, a fake Cowboys was created. They were like the real life Dallas franchise: success in the past but they've been mediocre at best for the past quarter century, mainly due to a meddlesome owner.