Netflix released their remake of the movie All Quiet on The Western Front on October 28, 2022. The movie portrays the life of an average soldier during World War 1. The movie is a Netflix original with a largely unknown European cast, but despite this, is proving to contend with other well regarded war films.

The movie is based on the 1933 version of the movie, which itself is based on the original book by German Author Erich Maria Remarque. The book is loosely based on his life and experiences during the first World War and the physical and psychological hardships he went through. The film follows the experiences of the main character Paul Baumer, a young German student played by Felix Kammerer, who joins the German army with his friends seeking adventure in the western front of World War 1. He quickly finds out about the reality of war when he is shipped out to the western front and sees firsthand that war is not the noble adventure he thought it was but instead a horrifying landscape that he has subjected himself to.

The movie does a good job not losing its meaning to mindless action and glory, something commonly found in contemporary war movies. This gives the movie a somber tone that makes it unique from other war movies coming out today.

I enjoyed this movie especially because it is based on true historical events that were covered in AP Euro so I was able to connect what I had learned in the class to the events happening in the movie. Some examples of this were the youth joining the army because they believed it would be a fun and noble adventure, a common belief of the time. As well as the German army’s recycling of uniforms and equipment because of supply shortages. I would give the movie a rating of 7/10 because of the epic war scenes and plot but it is quite long and the pacing could be better by . Its relatively unknown cast also adds to the realism by not having the added novelty of popular stars. I must warn you though the movie does display the graphic horrors of war so viewer discretion is advised as it is rated R.