Based on the widely acclaimed, best-selling novel, Billy Lynn’s walk across the grandest of stages is one that spans across many continents and years through the worst of scenarios. In “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”, Ang Lee brings his extraordinary vision once again to the silver screen. The film is told from the point of view of 19-year-old army specialist Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing Iraq battle, and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day football game in Dallas, Texas, the film reveals what really happened to the squad, contrasting the realities of the war with a media-heavy American perception. “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” is rated R for adult language throughout, some war violence, sexual content, and brief drug use.

Ang Lee has always been a director who tries to offer some social commentary on how we view important topics that are everywhere in our society. He does this by establishing an unorthodox method to filmmaking that makes his movies stand out above the rest. “Billy Lynn” is certainly no different from that perspective. Through a first-person narrative, Lee puts the audience front-and-center in the shoes of the protagonist, relating the idea that everyone is Billy. In doing this, he drafts a refreshing look under the microscope not only for soldiers and that awkward transition to returning home once they’ve been rattled by everyday foreign gunfire, but also for the way we as Americans treat our soldiers once they have made the ultimate sacrifice. As I’ll explain, there wasn’t a lot about this movie that I enjoyed, but I think Lee gets this perspective correct, and offers a spiritual debate to both sides of the spectrum in regards to those who do and don’t support the war.

Now that the compliments are done, lets get to the real meat of this movie; the plot. The idea through its trailers and plot synopsis is that Billy is a young soldier who experienced something terrible during his tour of Iraq that rattled him for good. When he returns to America for a football halftime show, he remembers point-by-point that fateful day that changed everything for him. The movie chooses the option of running two narrative storylines simultaneously, interjecting back-and-forth between past and present day. This style of storytelling has always been effective if done well, but there are two problems to using it here. The first is that the focus should be on what happened in the past, yet for a majority of the screenplay we are stuck in present day questioning what got us to this point. I’m OK with creating tension, but I started to lose patience the longer this movie dragged it out, and that brings me to my second problem. When we finally do figure out what happened with twenty minutes left in the 105 minute run time, it certainly isn’t anything to justify the wait. I respect every soldier who ever fights for our country, but I have heard far more enticing TRUE stories to war that are ten times more detailed than this. In waiting so long, we find out that there isn’t much to this day that differs it from the many that men and women face everyday, and it all feels dragged on for far too long, crafting pacing that moves at a slugs speed.

A love interest is introduced at the beginning of the second act for Billy, and this comes out of nowhere with unbelievable dialogue, as well as awkward timing. To pit her as a ditzy cheerleader of sorts initially is one that makes it feel like she won’t stick around for long, but then the movie tries to honor her as something she totally is not. As the movie plays on, Billy, who just met her that day, realizes that he is in love with her. This is more than likely because he is a virgin, as the movie tastelessly exploits throughout the run time. The chemistry between the two feels very wooden and forced to add some kind of love interest to the story. This is even proven correct when she tells him at the end of the movie “Every movie needs a girl love interest”. I’m not kidding, this attempt at meta-humor is an actual line in the movie.

But if you thought any of those things drove me nuts, they are peanuts compared to the actual miniscule budget that went into making this movie. At $114,000, “Billy Lynn” is one of the cheapest movies that I have reviewed in 2016, and that wouldn’t be a problem if the cost-cutting measures actually amounted to something positive in creativity. It doesn’t. Considering most of this movie takes place at this “Dallas football stadium”, they couldn’t even reserve the rights to the Dallas Cowboys name and likeness. Steve Martin even plays a character who strongly resembles Jerry Jones, the Cowboys polarized owner. This and the cheap knock-off Cowboys logo felt very distracting, especially to a Cowboys fan like myself. It gives the audience a reminder of how cheap and how little care and attention was brought to make this feel authentic.

There’s not a lot of positive reinforcement to the performances, as there are really very little breakout moments involving passionate dialogue to push the ranges further. Garrett Hedlund as Lynn’s captain is probably the single most effective performance in the movie, but doesn’t get his warranted chance to shine until the final act. The chemistry between he and Alwyn is certainly there, but I feel their unity could’ve used more emphasis on the battlefield to hammer home their unity as brothers of the squadron. Alwyn is OK, but kind of mutes his performance throughout the movie. I searched for any kind of personality to make him standout, and got nothing. There really isn’t even a legit reason why he is the chosen protagonist instead of someone else in this group. They all witness this tragedy, so what makes him different? Perhaps in his flimsy family supporting characters, led by Kristen Stewart as Billy’s Sister. Stewart once again plays this close to the chest in terms of her emotional delivery, and there’s a missed opportunity to tell more of her character as it relates to her time spent in the army.

Any time a movie title with the word “Long” is in it, you can bet you are in for a rough sit, and thankfully “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” didn’t disappoint in keeping that tradition. It’s a cheap, tame, and unfulfilling addition to the wartime drama that misses its mark on nearly every end of the spectrum. This one bored me to death and angered me to tears…..or maybe it’s the other way around.

4/10