It was just plain boring. The main plot could be summarized in one sentence: "Lincoln helps gets the 13th Amendment passed." The screenplay is written more like a history book than an actual movie. There were way to many characters and a total lack of character development to the point where it's very hard to care about any of the characters' motives. Even Lincoln (whose name is the title of the movie may I remind you) comes off as bland and barely characterized. There was so much opportunity to actually characterize Lincoln and focus on his personal life but the movie chose not to. For example, he suffered from depression and he may have been ill before he died. Never saw one scene that portrayed him as anything other than a pretty normal, healthy guy. Overall, the movie feels like those boring talking scenes in the Star Wars prequels. Don't get me wrong, the performances were great but the characters were so poorly written that they're easily forgettable. Plot Spoilers: There were a couple of subplots that go nowhere. For example, Lincoln's son joins the army even though his father tries to discourage him. After he joins the army, nothing ever comes out of it. There's no scenes of him in battle, no scenes focusing on whether or not he feels he made the right choice. Instead there's just one or two scenes where the son's wearing a uniform and standing near other soldiers. There was a very small subplot about Lincoln's relationship with his wife that sort of gets resolved at the end. There's basically one scene where Lincoln argues with his wife and brings up her mental health which was a scene I actually liked because it makes Lincoln seem more like a person than just a historical figure. Then there's another scene where they reconcile. Finally, the scene where we find out that Lincoln is assassinated is so poorly done. Basically: The film shows you a play and you're expecting Lincoln to get shot but instead a man runs on stage and yells the news that "The President has been shot". So much wasted opportunity for a powerful scene. The only emotional part about it was that the camera focused on his youngest son crying for about two seconds. I mean, I guess they were going for a Macbeth sort of thing where a character dies off-screen but that worked in Macbeth because there was actual build-up to it from the perspective of the killer.

[QUOTE="Aljosa23"]

I disagree with everything you said but I'm too lazy to say why.

tl;dr Lincoln was an awesome film and deserves all the awards it will get.

[/QUOTE] >disagrees with everything I said >tl;dr

[QUOTE="Aljosa23"]

[QUOTE="Reed_Bowie"][QUOTE="Aljosa23"]

I disagree with everything you said but I'm too lazy to say why.

tl;dr Lincoln was an awesome film and deserves all the awards it will get.

[/QUOTE] >disagrees with everything I said >tl;dr[/QUOTE]The tl;dr is for my long explanation that I'm too tired to write up. :P I read everything you said.

[/QUOTE] Shouldn't that be "tl;dw"?

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

It's amazing for what it does. If you can't see that it's not the fault of the movie.

[/QUOTE] What it did was put a textbook chapter to film. I guess I can honestly say I don't appreciate that as much as a movie with a good plot and characters.