Brief Thoughts on Young Washington

Happy 4th of July! 🎉 🦅 🇺🇸 🦅 🎉

What better way to celebrate than with a review of a movie made for this day, Young Washington, as my first-ever blog post!

The movie’s directed by Jon Erwin, and while I am not familiar with him, I recognized other members of the cast, namely Andy Serkis and Ben Kingsley.

I’ve heard about this movie from the trailer on YouTube, and it intrigued me. The last time I ever saw a historical film was way back in 2017, when I first moved here to Ithaca, NY, and it was Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.

Given that it was released for the 250th anniversary of the United States, I thought it’d be very thematic to watch it on that day.

Picture of Young Washington Poster at Regal Ithaca Mall

The film started with an ongoing battle (Battle of the Monongahela), and young Washington was woken abruptly from his rest. I could feel the tension and excitement as he navigated through the chaotic battlefield with smoke, cannons, and soldiers everywhere.

From there, it transitioned into the flashback sequences. I did feel it was a little jarring because he was recalling his past right in the middle of the battlefield. Nonetheless, the sequences were pretty interesting, as they showed his progression and character development.

Overall, the action scenes were great; the battles presented were thrilling to watch, with muskets galore!

I found the movie very enjoyable to watch. Was it historically accurate? Probably not, because it’s still a movie, at the end of the day, so creative liberties are to be expected, and I do not think they took away from the film.

The movie isn’t perfect, because some parts felt a bit of a slog to me. I was more interested in the scenes that featured the battles, if I am being honest.

But that isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, far from it! It’s definitely a movie I plan to re-watch once it’s available on DVD.