Jude Law’s Underrated WWII Movie Snipes a New Streamer

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Jude Law’s Underrated WWII Movie Snipes a New Streamer

Rotham October 24, 2025 0 Comments

World War II movies are practically their own genre at this point — but every once in a while, a film comes along that digs deeper than just soldiers in the trenches. One of those films is Enemy at the Gates, the tense, underrated 2001 war thriller starring Jude Law, Ed Harris, and Rachel Weisz. And now, the movie is getting a second life as it arrives on Paramount+ this November.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet), Enemy at the Gates shifts the focus away from large-scale combat and onto an intimate, psychological battle between two snipers — one Russian, one German — during the brutal Battle of Stalingrad.

Based on William Craig’s nonfiction book, Enemy at the Gates follows Vassili Zaitsev (Law), a Red Army soldier whose incredible aim turns him into an overnight legend. After single-handedly taking out five German soldiers in under a minute, Vassili becomes a symbol of hope for Soviet troops on the verge of collapse.

Enemy at the Gates holds a 53% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Atmospheric and thrilling, Enemy at the Gates gets the look and feel of war right. However, the love story seems out of place.”

Is Enemy at the Gates Worth Seeing?

Speaking back in 2001, Weisz told BBC that the role was a challenge for her and outlined the difficulties in prepping for it:

It had everything. It’s a cliché when female actors say they can’t find strong roles, but it is very hard to find challenging roles that are different and difficult. It’s also a story I didn’t know anything about and that was interesting on an intellectual level. I thought it was a great role for a young woman.

We read lots of history books and saw documentaries, reportage. And lots of photographs. There was one incredible image of a woman, a Russian soldier who was lying asleep on her rifle. Her face is covered in mud and dirt and she had such a serene expression on her face. It’s such an incredible image. I had it pinned up on my wall. I didn’t know there would be women fighting.

Enemy at the Gates comes to Paramount+ on November 1. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest updates on your favorite streaming movies and shows.