Grade: B-

Verdict: This often wonderful war movie is also its own worst enemy.

Details: Starring Jude Law, Ed Harris and Joseph Fiennes. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality. Two hours, 10 minutes.

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Review: They say the villain roles are the juiciest, and Ed Harris certainly proves it in "Enemy at the Gates." Part fact-based war movie, part fictitious front-line romance, the movie takes us to Stalingrad in the brutal winter of 1942-43. The enemies, i.e., the Germans, aren't just at the gates; they're inside, blasting the city and Soviet soldiers to bits.

Vassilli Zaitsev (Jude Law) is a quiet country boy with a keen eye--sort of the Sgt. York of Stalingrad. When he picks off five German officers after a failed assault on the Nazis' stronghold, he's befriended by an ambitious propaganda officer named Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). A few worshipful newspaper columns by Danilov, and Vassilli becomes a national hero, recognized on the streets, written to by factory workers and little kids.

But celebrity has its downside. As it happens, both Hitler and Stalin regard Stalingrad as an important symbol. (Adolf and Joe--this time it's personal!) So Vassilli becomes a symbol as well. The Nazis import their top marksman, the steely-eyed Major Koenig (Harris), to blow away Vassilli's morale-boosting "myth." Thus, a clash between two nations is whittled down to a two-man duel--the seasoned noble from Bavaria vs. the unassuming peasant from the Urals.

So far, terrific. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud ("The Name of the Rose," "Seven Years in Tibet") cannily wraps a large-scale military epic (the movie reportedly cost $80 million) around a gripping, intimate human drama. The cat-and-mouse scenes between the two snipers are electric, charged with a mesmerizing psych-out-the-other-guy suspense.

Unfortunately, Annaud adds an insipid romantic triangle involving Vassilli, Danilov and an attractive Jewish soldier (Rachel Weisz, wearing eye shadow on sniper missions). About the only good thing to come out of this soapy subplot is a hot sex scene in clothing. Otherwise, it's an irritating interruption that takes time away from the thrilling manhunt being waged by the sharpshooters. Pretty as Weisz is, she can't begin to compete with Harris' bristling bad-guy authority. We're more interested in his relationship with Law than hers.

Aside from Harris, the movie's biggest asset is the wide-screen slaughter Annaud captures so convincingly. The opening sequence has the shocking immediacy (and gore, so be prepared) of "Saving Private Ryan." Plus, there are some startling images--a river full of floating corpses, massive hunks of Soviet statues strewn amid the city's rubble.

"Enemy at the Gates" is one half of a magnificent movie. Viewing tips: Don't move whenever Harris is onscreen, and head for the concession stand when the love stuff starts up. Only don't miss that sex scene.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution