. The story follows Daniel Rodell (Toby Maguire), a teen who joins a group of Kansas Irregulars in 1861. At its core, it's a coming-of-age story, as Rodell fights his way through the war, losing family and friends until he finally ends the war on his own terms.
Sure, there's a "love story" here, but it also offers a lot from a wargamers' perspective. As it focuses on "irregular" cavalry operations, there are no set piece battles as in Glory or Gettysburg, but the skirmishes come across as quite authentic. And inspiring. I have this urge to go right out and buy some 28mm Civil war cavalry figures to do a skirmish game.
While I'm sure that the historical stickers among wargamers will (as usual) have a long laundry list of "errors" in the movie, there wasn't anything that jumped out and ruined the movie for me (one critic I read pointed out that in that period, women didn't' have inseam pockets in their skirts — big deal). In particular, I loved the period language: formal and rather flowery by modern standards. While people may not have really spoken in that manner, it is right in keeping with the phrasing in period letters I have read.
If you haven't seen it, I think you should seek this one out.
For zombie game inspiration, you can download and watch George Romero's 1968 classic horror film, Night of the Living Dead for free.