BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK (2016)

Genre: Drama
Running Length: 1:50
Cast: Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Arturo Castro, Mason Lee, Astro, Beau Knapp, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Barney Harris, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, Kristen Stewart
Director: Ang Lee
Screenplay: Jean-Christophe Castelli based on the novel by Ben Fountain

I applaud Ang Lee's intent to immerse us in the reality and authenticity of soldiers going through post-war trauma with using new photo realistic technology (120 frames-per-second) to shoot it and almost filming most scenes in 'first person' pov. But his new movie, BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK turned out to be more distracting than captivating.

The story is simple enough. Billy Lynn (played by a newcomer, Joe Alwyn) temporarily returns home to Texas from Iraq (the 2004 war) for a victory tour. He is a war hero because he braved himself to save his wounded sergeant during a massive exchange of fire. His heroic act was caught on camera. As part of the tour, he and his troop are to participate in an elaborate football halftime show featuring Destiny's Child. As Billy and his band of brothers prepare for this show, the audience is taken on a journey into the mind of Billy of what he went through at Iraq.

This supposedly immersive filming experiment between us the audience and the film, comes to a climax at the half time show itself where the filmmakers cleverly drew resemblance between the chaos and exploding fireworks with what was happening at the combat scene. I must say that supersized scene itself was worth the price of the ticket because I could actually feel what Billy was going through - his discomfort, confusion and removed poise he has to put up. It was intense.

But other than this central scene, the rest of the movie is mediocre. The themes are strong but somehow it just didn't shine through. Especially the paradox of heroism - one minute the soldiers are treated as royalty and the other as toiletries. And there's also the satire of the American dream.

There's so much potential for emotional heft that could have been explored without the need to use such seemingly 'immersive' new tech.  There are some quiet moments which are powerful but those moving scenes are just few and far between.

Rating: 6/10