preachy...but confused
This is a slideshow wrapped in the guise of being an anti-war movie. In actuality, it is a slideshow that serves as a music video for the song "War Pigs." If the song were to be removed, there would be far less context, and many viewers would most likely have a difficult time understanding if the images add up to anti-war, pro-war, or a simple exploration of both sides.
It is preachy because the author does not let us decide how we feel about any element of the movie. Even before we watch it, we are told what the movie is and how it should be taken. So, subtlty is not its strong point.
But, its greatest downfall is that it is confused. The lyrics of "War Pigs" are not exactly anti-war - they are anti-politician/hypocrisy. The message is basically: bloated politicians make war, but leave it to "the poor" to fight it. Oh, and then "Yeah!" And then some heavy guitar riffing...but that's sort of besides the point.
The confusion here is that the visuals don't really capture this sentiment, nor do many of the subtitles. In fact, while the lyrics condemn the politicians, the images and subtitles many times condemn the soldiers themselves.
Ironically, this movie, which purports to chide the administration for being hypocites who don't value the precious lives of the soldiers, actually undermines itself by insulting the soldiers. Not only are they shown brutalizing prisoners, civilians (thus making the soldiers look evil), we also get Ozzy's declaration that the soldiers are "the poor." I'm not so sure the soldiers in any military would be very appreciative of its national civilian population referring to them as "the poor." It's a bit condascending, generalizing, and downright degrading...especially coming from the people they aim to protect.
So, in the end, we are beaten down with a message. But it's such a convoluted message that the viewer is more perplexed (and woozy) than anything.
And on a final note, if the author is truly trying to make a case against the administration and the war...well, we should be digging a bit deeper than "War Pigs," no? I mean, certainly there must be better rallying cries than that.
And this long review is coming from a guy who is a staunch liberal. I mean, don't call me crazy, but I like my fellow left-wingers to have a more original thought than to quote Sabbath, man.
"Yeah!" [Heavy Guitar Riff outro]