The film centers mostly around the personal and professional life of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a brilliant if eccentric Confederate general, from the outbreak of the American Civil War until its halfway point when Jackson is killed accidentally by his own soldiers in May 1863 during his greatest victory.
It's a plodding, episodic film, reverent and sanctimonious, and its pro-Southern viewpoint -- a time-honored Hollywood tendency -- makes Gone With the Wind look like a Northern polemic.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
21 Feb 2003
rotten:
A movie that crams in so many faces, chronological details and endlessly ham-handed stretches of dialogue that the impact of the legitimately moving segments is considerably diminished.
– Ted Fry,
Seattle Times,
21 Feb 2003
rotten:
It was made strictly by and for Civil War buffs who insist that every pious speech and every skirmish is worthy of filming, even if the end result suffers from serious battle fatigue.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
21 Feb 2003
rotten:
Four hours including the intermission, I felt like I was seeing the Civil War in real time for awhile there.
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
24 Feb 2003
rotten:
Maxwell continues his textbook emphasis on military maneuvers, but despite literally thousands of Civil War reenactors recruited for the film, the wide-screen canvas fails to map the tactics or evoke the terror of battle.