Saints and Soldiers: The Void

SPOILERS:After watching THE VOID twice did I appreciate what the producers were trying to accomplish. I don't believe they were striving to make a great war movie. They didn't have the budget to do that anyway and they knew it. What I believe the director and producers were trying to do was convey the moral that if we put our superficial differences aside, then as a team we can accomplish near anything, including survival.The race element was but a plot tool to set up the moral that the cauldron of battle binds all men when each man realizes the humanity of his comrade next to him. The story of the segregated US Army prior to 1947 is well-known to all Americans, even if not in great detail to the younger generations. THE VOID as part of its overt message of universal camaraderie underscored the fundamental foolishness of military segregation when battle and combat bring men together, not drive them apart. But that is all THE VOID strived to accomplish without going into strenuous explanation of the old segregated US Army. And nor did THE VOID attempt to varnish all white soldiers as inherently racist as most of the white soldiers depicted were either tolerant or supportive of Technical Sergeant Jesse Owens. No, this was not the Olympics Jesse Owens. It was the script's tongue-in-cheek joke that an Afro-American namesake, TSGT Owens would elicit a background conversation of the 1936 Berlin Olympics Jesse Owens embarrassing and irritating Chancellor Adolf Hitler.Many of the reviewers ignored the Easter eggs provided in THE VOID.This was a movie to delight aficionados of World War Two military equipment, specifically German tanks and American tank destroyers.The movie's American tankers were correct in describing their German ambushers as old tanks. Relatively speaking, the Panzer Mark III, "long" 50mm cannon of 1941 was obsolescent by 1945. It had long been upgraded in late 1941-42 to the Mark IV by replacing the 50mm cannon with the lethal, long-barrel Pak 40 75mm cannon, capable of taking out any Allied tank to the end of the war. The Mark IV also received another slab of 1.25" inch armor to its frontal glacis. The PzKpfw IV was Germany's workhorse equivalent of the American M4 Sherman. The PzKpfw III started off inferior to the M4 Sherman with its weak 37mm main cannon. It reached parity with the upgraded 50mm cannon, now able to take out the M4 at close range but still vulnerable. As the Mark IV it achieved superiority against the Sherman with its high-velocity, Pak 40 75mm cannon versus the M4's short-barrel, lower velocity cannon.The Void should delight fans of military tanks by the rare depiction of the M18 Hellcat tank destroyer. Of all the US Army self-propelled tank destroyers of WW2, historians laud the M18 as an excellent design, the best of the lot automotively, excepting the M36 with its superior 90mm cannon. Yet the same appreciate historians point out the M18's inherent vulnerability, it's mere, one-inch thick frontal armor.US Army tank destroyer doctrine of WW2 did not call for tank destroyers to battle it out, head-to-head against enemy tanks. American tank destroyers were supposed to detect oncoming enemy armor, rush out from concealment using superior mobility, engage and destroy enemy tanks with its superior 76.2mm antitank cannon. But this did not work out as expected under subsequent combat conditions. The Germans soon began upgrading the cannon armament and armor of their tanks. The superiority of faster speed and mobility proved a myth in combat trials on rough ground. The M18 could achieve a marvelous 45mph on roads but nowhere as fast on rough terrain. It's open-top turret, while offering excellent visibility as per tank destroyer doctrine, still suffered the tactical dangers of all open-topped tank destroyers, vulnerability to overhead artillery and mortar bursts, and sniper fire in urban environments.THE VOID is perhaps the first American war movie to depict the long-forgotten M18 Hellcat tank destroyer.After the end of WW2, the US Army acknowledged the tank destroyer concept was the wrong answer to an incorrect military threat. All tank destroyers were withdrawn from frontline service and the US Army Tank Destroyer Center in Texas closed down. Many of the now surplus tank destroyers went to Allied nations. As late as 1992, several M18 Hellcats were being used in the bitter, internecine conflict among the independent republics of the former Yugoslavia which disintegrated that same year.

THIS FILM IS NOT ABOUT THE OLYMPIC ATHLETE JESSE OWENS."The Void" is the third film in the "Saints & Soldiers" WW2 franchise. Notably, "The Void" features an African-American as the main character. The fictional character shares the same name as the real life African-American Olympian, Jesse Owens. However, the characters in the film make it clear that this fictional Jesse Owens is not THE Olympian Jesse Owens. Just as you would find many people with the same name in a telephone directory, this film's main character simply has a similar name.The film also addresses the historic inequities of the WW2 segregated U.S. Army. However, the story is not centered around social justice issues. It merely weaves this valid and historically truthful theme into the overarching plot.The adventure itself involves an isolated and ragtag band of allied soldiers in the waning days of WW2 trying to survive a German ambush, which is lead by a sadistic Nazi SS Unteroffizier. Typical of low-budget films, the plot is simplistic and the production is small on special effects, sets and supporting cast.In spite of a limited budget, "The Void" does an fine job of evoking the era and maintaining viewer interest with regular "Hollywood" action. The authentic WW2 vehicles and equipment added a nice element of realism. Some criticisms are that the reproduction uniforms and some of the modern replica firearms were too clean and unworn. Also, some of the armored vehicles used rubber tracks, which were not period appropriate.Overall, "The Void" is an acceptable, low budget, WW2 drama and a good addition to the "Saints and Soldiers" series of films. The script could have been polished better, but is no worse than many more notable WW2 productions. Filmed in Utah, USA.My rating is 4 stars out of 5.

Okay, yes, the way black members of our armed forces in the WWII era were treated is deplorable. You'll note it got better and we have not had a segregated military since three years after WWII (July 26,1948 to be precise).Yes, by golly, YES, the US was a bad place for black people prior to MLK, Jr. I think we all know that. But this movie shoves "wokeness" down the viewer's throat. I'm not entirely sure a white corporal could mouth off at a black T'Sgt. like was done in this film. I'm further not convinced a white British officer would be the "woke" voice of reason. Frankly the movie would be quite a bit shorter if they skipped the whole, "Let's brow-beat everyone about how stupid we were about race three quarters of a century ago" shtick. We get is and there's nothing we can do now to fix that.All that said, and if you don't sprain your eyeball muscles rolling your orbs at all the obvious woke B.S. and pandering to the current political caca del toro, this is, in fact, a very enjoyable movie. Realistic? I can't really say. But fun, certainly. The whole Saints and Soldiers franchise is pretty fun, if way too close to a day-time drama and crazily "woke." But I've managed to look aside at all the foolishness and historical shaming and actually enjoy them. They certainly aren't the great war epics from the 1950s, '60s and '70s, that I grew up on, but they are quite fun to watch.

Third movie from the Saints and soldiers line.Basic and realistic WW2 tank warfare story.2x M18 Hellcat vs 3x german Panzer III.Good FX for a low budget movie.Real WW2 Hellcat Tank destroyers.Panzer III are reproduction, but very detailled. (Exterior)Good bonus documentary. (Thanks to the Chieftain)A Must to have.World of tanks 20$ bonus WORKS ONLY for new player.

Un assez bon film sur la guerre et l'héroïsme individuel plutôt que réellement un film de guerre.Cet opus présente les mêmes caractéristiques que les deux premiers films parus antérieurement:crédibilité historique ,crédibilité des scènes de combats exaltation du sacrifice d'un petit groupe de soldats lambdas au profit du plus grand nombre, portrait très humain et psychologiquement assez fouillé des quelques protagonistes.La trame du scénario est la même que les deux premiers films mais concerne ici le sort de deux chasseurs de chars hellcat perdus dans la région de Berlin à la fin de la guerre.Par ailleurs, il s'agit clairement d'un film à petit budget donc ne vous attendez pas à des effets spéciaux grandioses.Ici ce sont les sentiments humains qui sont mis à l'honneur.Je recommande ce film ;car j'estime important que ce genre de film mettant l'accent sur l'humain puisse coexister avec les blockbusters bourrés d'effets spéciaux qui inondent le marché depuis des décennies maintenant.

Not a production like Saving Private Ryan but gritty little movie just the same.

I like this movie better than the last one since it is about tank battles. Good flick.

excellent et aucun probleme avec la transaction