Whenever something that comes out of Hollywood is said to be "based on a true story" you’re best off to assume that most of it is made up. The only thing you can be assured of is that you’ve paid far too much if you’re looking for a history lesson.

In Enemy at the Gates Jude Law stars as Vassili Zaitsev, a Russian sniper who gained fame by picking off lots of Germans during World War II. It made him a Russian legend -- that much we can presume is true. But, did a German sniper really arrive in Stalingrad to put an end to Vassili’s reign of terror over the Germans? The historians doubt it (and the fact that this sniper is given no first name in the film helps to confirm that). And did Vassili have a love affair with a beautiful, female Russian soldier? Well, when you put young men out in the battlefield for extended periods of time, they tend to do such things. It’s pretty safe to say that Vassili had at least one of these flings -- if not a few dozen! No, like many Hollywood stories, Enemy at the Gates doesn’t get high marks for historical accuracy, but it should get good marks for telling an intriguing tale.

What’s contained in its two-plus hour running time is a darn good "cat and mouse" game where Vassili moves from being the hunter, to being the hunted. And who cares if it’s true? This is the kind of stuff guys dream about doing when they’re playing war (ever play paint ball?). Vassili’s adversary is an esteemed German soldier named Major Koenig (played by Ed Harris). And all the action takes place in the ruins of Stalingrad as the Russians try desperately to hang on to their land and their honor. Telling you any more would be giving too much away.

Don’t go to Enemy at the Gates if you’re looking for a historically accurate telling of a war story. This is high-budget, high-grade Hollywood fiction, and for that it gets a ***1/2 rating.

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