The scripts extremely well written, the direction flawless, and the performances -- especially by the fantastic Joaquin Phoenix, gobsmacking.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Sloppy when it should be incisive, indulgent when it should be astringent, and ultimately unsure of what it is mocking and in what spirit.
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Suffers from melodramatic overkill.
San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann
Ultimately, it's a cold, caustic film that doesn't take a strong point of view but seems to offer up its numerous set pieces.
As social satire, though, the movie is a nonstarter, completely lacking in the zany lunacy of "M*A*S*H" and "Dr. Strangelove," or the whacked savagery of "Catch-22."
In its post-Vietnam cynicism, Buffalo Soldiers feels almost avant-garde.
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Youve heard of guerrilla warfare? Buffalo Soldiers is all about guerilla capitalism.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Paula Nechak
In some ways it suffers from the same unredemptive afflictions as Elwood and his gang: It's a bit flaccid and flabby and lumbers gracelessly along without self awareness or humanity.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer
This is low-grade satire. The shocks to the system in Buffalo Soldiers are nothing more than cheap thrills.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The film is filled with spot-on performances, by Harris, Glenn, Phoenix, and by Paquin, who has grown up after her debut in "The Piano" to become one of the most gifted actresses of her generation--particularly in tricky, emotion-straddling roles like this one.