Many movies succeed in uncovering fascinating and lesser-known moments in history, captivating audiences along the way. Unfortunately, “The Six Triple Eight,” about the first Black female battalion in World War II, is not that movie. In fact, it’s about as interesting as watching mail being sorted – which is ironically a large part of this movie’s plot.
This movie details the 6888 battalion’s involvement in World War II as the first Black female battalion. It focuses mainly on Lena, a Black high school student living in America during World War II. When Lena joins the army, however, the focus of the movie shifts to Major Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the battalion.
Later in the movie, the battalion moves to Europe where they are assigned to sort the mail backlog that is hurting the morale of troops and their loved ones during the war.
The quality of acting in the movie varied based on the character. Ebony Obsidian, who plays Lena Derriecott, and Kerry Washington, who plays Major Charity Adams, were both extremely convincing actresses when it came to performing their roles. In contrast, some of the other actors performed with less eloquence, particularly General Halt, who was played by Dean Norris. It felt as though his attempt at performing a cocky racist general was too arrogant, even though that was the role he was going for.
Despite the movie’s attempts to emphasize the struggle of African American women in the army, it was overly preachy when it came to dialogue. For example, when Major Charity Adams says, “For once I’d like to play on an even playing field…Is fair too much too much to ask for?” It seems as though this is one of the many times that she uses this preachy talking style. Viewers are intelligent enough to get that this is the theme of the movie without it being so bluntly stated.
Another drawback of the movie is the plot, which is too predictable. The first part of the movie focuses on the relationship between Lena and Abram. After Abram decides to leave for the war, Lena is devastated to hear of his death and then decides to join the army herself.
But when watching the beginning scene in the movie, it is clear that there will be a connection between the beginning scene and the later discovery of the letter (Abram’s letter found in the first scene). Since that scene serves as a great climatic moment, it makes the plot less complex and corroborates the discussed predictable structure of the film.
Overall, due to the predictable structure of this movie and the constant moralistic acting, I would not recommend this as a first choice. Instead, I recommend viewing “Hidden Figures” as it echoes similar themes of equality and develops the characters more interestingly. It tells the story of how African American women at NASA combat segregation in order to contribute to astronautical exploration. However, if you’re looking for a movie that is somewhat similar and gives insight into a little-known part of the American Army, then you might want to give this a try.
