An action-packed slog

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I didn't know too much about John Milius before I sat down to watch this documentary, other than that he scripted some great movies and was responsible for one of my favourite fantasy flicks, CONAN THE BARBARIAN. So this was an eye-opening journey for me, and one which was a lot of fun. It's a documentary mainly comprised of talking head footage which looks at Milius's career in Hollywood, his rise, fame, and eventual downfall, in a snappy and amusing way. The requisite clips from his films play out and although familiar they don't lose their charm.My only real problem with this film was that some of the animated linking scenes were pretty silly but that's a very minor niggle. The sheer breadth and wealth of Hollywood talent that has been assembled here is impressive in itself, with Spielberg and Lucas nestling alongside George Hamilton and Schwarzenegger. A lot of them have very interesting anecdotes to share, anecdotes which when put together build up a good portrait of the maverick that is Milius. While he might not be quite the legend that the filmmakers seem to believe, this is still highly watchable viewing.

A look at the life of filmmaker John Milius, the greatest filmmaker nobody knows.In this documentary, Milius is played up as the best writer of dialogue, someone who recognized how people actually talk. Again and again he is mentioned as the dialogue guy, and Sean Connery thought he was the only one who could write good speeches.It is certainly interesting to see how close he was with George Lucas at USC, making "Marcello I'm Bored" (1967) together, and more or less being good friends since then. Not knowing much about Lucas, it seemed an odd match.Milius came up through American International Pictures (though apparently not under Roger Corman) and went on to make "Apocalypse Now", "Jaws", "Dirty Harry" and more... Charlie Sheen loves him, which means something. The UFC is mentioned as connected, with Milius having helped create interest in the sport on the part of investors and television outlets, and John Goodman in "Big Lebowski" may have been influenced by him.

Aside from "Dirty Harry", John Milius has never been my cup of tea. That, and "Used Cars". I've just never gravitated towards his stuff. But here comes "Milius", a documentary that, just in its first three minutes paints a enthralling picture of the larger-than-life man's man storyteller that makes for great subject matter. This movie had me glued to the screen, wanting to know more about the guy whose passion governed his movie-making; who brings a gun into a story meeting; the inspiration for Walter Sobchack, one of my favorite movie characters; the rebel filmmaker, always going the other way. And "Milius" is a terrific movie, chock-full of entertaining stories and no shortage of commentary from industry pros. It's a movie that absolutely needed to be made, and I'm wholeheartedly glad I got to see it. 8/10

"Milius" admirably susses out the life and essence of director, writer and movie maven John Milius, and does so without resorting to hagiography or caricature. Milius the man and the notion put the hook in me, to use his own expression, with his script for "Apocalypse Now" from 1979. He is a master of the outsize soliloquy that is relevant, indelible, written in urgent flaming large font, and always delivered with a sub rosa wink and nod. Milius in life is as bombastic, vexing and complex as his characters, and labels, slogans, and cliché cannot describe him. The filmmakers here do an exceptional job of getting past hype and drama to really figure out what makes Milius tick (or tock, as the case often is). One wishes Coppola in this film were more forthcoming with what must surely be deep insights into Milius he possesses, but aside from this dry spot, "Milius" is a nicely-woven film and warrants a watch.