this is a standout war film that very much emphasises its message of anti-war. the way the youngsters' minds were influenced and manipulated to add them as recruits in the war and, in turn, gift them horrors and death is shown here in gloomy fashion. the cinematography is impressive and it is one of the main factors that kept my eyes glued. the score is eccentric with its guttural strings and glitched out sounds that play like impending doom. i like the 3 way storytelling between the general, the democrats and the soldiers (inspiration from dunkirk?). Felix Kammerer is an exceptional performer but Kat was my favourite character, he just oozed charisma. his death scene was very depressing and i like the not-so-subtle ironies and foreshadowings, most of which can be comprehended by the average viewer. a very good example of this is when kat died, the medic said he had bad luck because he died right before he could save his life. this is the same thing that happens to the main character paul at the end. this is very surprisingly a war film which is made for the mainstream, that would explain why its on netflix lol. it is quite entertaining whilst juggling thought provoking and sensitive subject matter along with the unbridled violence. in my opinion, i feel like sam mendes' 1917 is a better war film than this. final rating 4.75/5