‘Billy Lynn’: Ang Lee’s Iraq War hero tale falls short

Published 1:30 am Friday, November 18, 2016

It may be a revolution in movie technology, but not many people are actually going to see it.

During its production, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” was touted as yet another advance in the way we watch films. This one was going to kick 3D to the next level, by doubling the “frame rate” that had already been super-high in the “Hobbit” movies.

Hmm. “The Hobbit” was shot at a frame rate twice as fast as regular movies, and it really looked freaky — like a daytime soap opera. What would the next level be?

I don’t know, and most of the country won’t either. “Billy Lynn” will be screened in normal 3D as well as “flat,” but there’s only a handful of theaters that will show it in its intended form.

That’s too bad, because as I was watching the movie, I sensed I was missing part of the experience. A big part.

Adapted from a novel by Ben Fountain, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” takes place within a single day, but with plenty of traumatic flashbacks. Billy (played by newcomer Joe Alwyn) is a hero of the Iraq War, a soldier whose daring rescue of a fallen comrade was captured on camera.

He and his squadmates are going to be honored at a halftime extravaganza in Dallas, circa 2004 (the NFL doesn’t seem to have licensed its stuff for the movie, so the teams are fictitious).

Billy’s nervous build-up to the show is interspersed with scenes from Iraq and moments with his family in Texas. His parents don’t want to hear about how complicated the war is, but his skeptical sister (Kristen Stewart, very good) urges him to use his hero status to get out of combat.

Along with these sibling talks, the best material is Billy’s distinctly R-rated camaraderie with his unit. Most of the soldiers are played by little-known actors, although Garrett Hedlund is a standout as Billy’s hardnosed sergeant.

There are big names in the cast: Vin Diesel as a philosophical sergeant, Steve Martin as the obnoxious owner of the football team, and Chris Tucker as a Hollywood agent trying to get the squad a movie deal.

The film makes a couple of points fairly obviously and sometimes entertainingly, but it’s clear that Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (“Life of Pi”) intended a specific immersive experience. When the halftime show kicks off, and lights are flashing and rockets are booming, it’s meant to be so disorienting that we might understand how these soldiers could flip out.

As it is, we see that from a distance. I think Lee is a terrific director, and it looks like he had something in mind that could have felt new. But seen this way, it’s hard to tell.

+m+m ½ “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”

Ang Lee directs this story of an Iraq War hero (newcomer Joe Alwyn) who sorts through his feelings while being trotted out for a splashy celebration. The movie makes its points, and has a couple of standout performances (Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart), but Lee’s technically advanced version of the film is not being generally shown, so it’s hard to guess at what this immersive experience was supposed to be.

Rating: R, for language, violence

Showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett Stadium, Marysville, Pacific Place, Thornton Place Stadium, Cascade Mall