Whenever I watch something that I have never heard of on Netflix, I expect one of two things: one, that the movie I’m watching is a masterpiece, or that it is an absolute piece of trash I never should have wasted my time watching.

However, there is a third option that’s so rare that I am surprised whenever I encounter it: the average movie.

This was the case with “Buffalo Soldiers,” a 2001 movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. The film is about an army private, Ray Elwood, serving in Germany toward the end of the Cold War. Not because he volunteered, but because he was caught stealing a car, and he had to chose between the army and prison.

On his base, he cooks and sells heroin, while sleeping with his superior’s wife. And despite the intriguing premise, the film still manages to be really average. I like crime films. In a crime film, I am willing to forgive a lot, especially when a film is imitating Scorsese or Tarantino. “Buffalo Soldiers” has a bit of both, and yet it ends up leaving me a little disappointed.

Phoenix does his part in the film, but at times he looks like he’s half asleep, channeling the charm of a Ray Liotta or Leonardo DiCaprio, and he does a fantastic job of it, but he doesn’t have the energy to carry the film.

That isn’t to say the film isn’t good. It can be really funny at times, and the story is actually pretty well done. It kept me guessing enough to keep me engaged throughout the story, and my time spent watching the film didn’t feel entirely wasted.

The film has a lot of funny moments, and while I remember very few of them in detail, it does have some that actually caught me by surprise and made me laugh pretty hard.

Joaquin Phoenix does a great job, even when the film loses its energy and slows down. I never remember feeling like I wished the film would end, and that’s a pretty good thing.

I give “Buffalo Soldiers” three stars out of five. The film isn’t at all bad, but after watching it I can’t say that I would care to see it again.

Like “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” the film is not at all memorable, but it was a decently fun ride while it lasted.

Alex Bertsch is the opinion editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].