Directed by Angelina Jolie, this is a long and slow true story of American Olympic runner Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell).
Zamperini survives two plane crashes, several weeks floating on a raft and two Japanese POW camps – and yet the film detailing these events somehow ends up plodding and dull.
O'Connell is OK, but he has few lines and little actual character. Even less well drawn is Sgt. Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watanabe (Miyavi), who is sadistic in a way that’s never really explained – despite the seemingly endless scenes of torture.
A good story, badly told, it's further proof that actors don't usually make for great directors.
