General

Jana water bottle, Kaufland and Vip advertisements, Gucci bag, horses instead of camels etc etc... But no one mentions the biggest mistake. The biggest mistake is that no one in the whole series uses the old Croatian greeting - ZDS...

Do not watch this crap if you do not want to waste your time.

As a Croat particullary Dalmatian, and passionate filmophile, I really wanted to watch, like and later suggest, wherever I could, story about most beloved soldier in Croatian war for independence from Yugoslavia. Such a GOOD PREMISE. "General" is real person Ante Gotovina, which had such an extraordinary and rich life (and still going on strong as a tuna fishermen in Dalmatia) and film about him could have been excellent TV serie. And it should be! But, after watchig 1st episode, I'm ashamed now. Great story devastated. I'm sorry that lead actor Goran Visnjic (who had lots of previous Hollywood filming experience) couldn't use few of his contacts to present full potential of the story to some decent studio. I'm definitely positive that reputable or even B production (whatever in USA or EU), would make a blockbuster from rich life stories of hero Ante Gotovina. Producers should sit, watch and learn how masters from Mexican studio did a great job with Narcos. Ante Gotovina learn warfare in South America as a legionarre serving campaignes in French Legion Etrangere, parachute elite corps, after engageing in Croatian war for independence, accused (by international court in Bruxelless "ICTY") then captured in Canary Islands and sentenced to 20 yrs in prison, later disregarded because all of the evidences about rightnesses, honesty and moral. If "General" TV series was directed by Clint Eastwood this would be masterpiece. Instead we got lousy execution, poor story, insane scene jumping, clumsy accents from actors, abysmal logic in ageing from different characters, usage of same actors for different roles, clouds representing persons, boring overacted monologues and dialogues, poorest CGI and awkward SFX, Serbs with desigations from different century, no bloodshed and gore from soldiers, etc. Shallow filming work! I read user reviews on regullarly because they are most sincere and unbiased feedback for movie buff like me, but never before wrote single review (surely was tempted after watching Convenat, but afer all, Convenant was fair maded movie despite of plenty flaws in the script). At the end, I can honestly say, in a great respect to Croatian hero Ante Gotovina, do not watch this crap. Because that is.

The series follows General Ante Gotovina, from his childhood to his contribution to the defense of the Republic of Croatia. Parts of the Republic of Croatia were occupied by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), which was completely under Serbian control, and Serb paramilitaries also operated in those areas.

I will probably give the series a higher rating than it deserves, because the series is not as bad as the rating suggests, but everyone has a right to their opinion.

The series could have been better with another director, but this is what we have. But criticism aside, the series is still better than I thought.

The script could have been better, and some mistakes could have been avoided. What is good is the chronology of events, and some dialogues are still interesting, but stll not good enough.

At times it is almost documentary, because this is a real story after all, but it would be better if it was more cinematic. The script is flawed, the direction varies from good to sometimes irritating, the documentary way of shooting is not always good, and the so-called shaky camera should not be used too often, because sometimes that makes the series look cheap. But like I said, the series could be better, but not everything in it is bad.

Mustafa Nadarevic is excellent in the role of General Janko Bobetko, he is perhaps a class above other actors, and his conversation with the prisoner Ilija is impressive and shows us why he was one of the best actors in this region.

General Gotovina said that the war is over and that we should turn to the future and that is a good message, but of course none of that should be forgotten, we should learn from the past that such things do not happen again.

On December 8, 2005, the world media reported that Croatian General Ante Gotovina (played by Hollywood star Goran Visnjic), was arrested. Falsely accused for war crimes by Hague Tribunal which under international pressure tried to equally spread the blame for the break up of Yugoslavia on all involved sides. Certain European powers wanted to preserve Yugoslavia (or Greater Serbia) no matter the name of the country. General Gotovina was one of the few extraordinary Croatian people who fought this war against all the odds and won it in the end. After 1000 years Croatia is again a fully independent state recognised by the major EU and UN members in Januray 1992.

The fisherman's son, born in Tkon on the island of Pasman, lost his mother early. He lived in Pakostane until he was 17, and then one day he decided to see the world outside of Yugoslavian communist regime.

He left home with heavy heart and boarded a ship as a sailor.

Some time later he joined the French Legion as suggested by the person he met on the ship. There he participated in many French military operations, where he was wounded. In the late 80's he went to South America where he met his first wife, Ximenu Dalel. When the war in Croatia began, Gotovina returned to his homeland in 1991 without hesitation to offer his life and services to his new country which had no army, yet.

He was one of the foremost commanders in the Homeland War (Croatian war for independence). Due to his military experience and ability, Gotovina quickly advanced into the hierarchy and eventually received the rank of general, after which he commanded the military operation Storm in 1995 which liberated most of the country in just few days.

He retired in 2000 but lost seven years in The Hague where he was eventually declared innocent. He was and still is considered one of the greatest war heros among ordinary Croatian people who have seen the worst side of life during the war. Series made of 8 episodes has just been released and is even better than the movie.