How on gods earth is this a 7.4?

It was a borefest. You would think with DDL and TLJ it would be something special. It wasn't.

I gave it a 6/10. The performances are, across the board, very good (I especially liked Sally Fields), and it's beautifully shot, but the pacing is a little slow and some of the political machinations were hard to follow.

I agree with you. I gave it a five. Sally Field was awful as Mary and the ending was garbage.

I loved it. I love more cerebral entertainment. Pacing was/is not an issue for me.

To anyone who appreciates the political savvy that Lincoln displayed when passing the 14th amendment, this movie is anything but boring or slow-paced. Spielbergs rendition perfectly captures both the political turmoil and the cultural barriers that handicapped any attempts to do the right thing. History does not always play out in a relentless action sequence. This is how it happened, plain and simple and Spielberg did a great job not letting artistic creativity or the temptation to over dramatize things ruin the story that was already played out by real men and women. 10 points in my book.

Some dont dig the pacing, including myself..

I agree with you. It is Spielberg's most unshowy,toned down and intelligently objective work since 'Munich'. For once, the director does not pad the monumental moments with sentimentalism but rather captures them briskly and crisply. The pacing is indeed leisurely and elegiac but let's not forget that it picks up very nicely towards the film's emotional upsurge of a climax. The politics are captured very realistically- the era settings are authentic and actually credible rather than showy or spectacular and boy, the acting is superb all throughout.

For those, who thought Day Lewis was not that good, a word of advice- just marvel at his nuances- the way he made Lincoln a fascinating mix of wise, wizened, demanding, humorous and ultimately heart-warming. People think that Day Lewis can do only ballsy, larger-than-life roles like 'Gangs Of New York' and 'There Will Be Blood' but they miss the wonderful nuance that he brought to these roles. It is the nuances that he brings that make him such a great actor...

I think 7.4 is very generous! It's been upvoted by all the Day Lewis fans who would give him a 10/10 award performance for taking a dump. Which is pretty much what he does in this borefest- Sits around a table for 3 hours secretly writing his next Academy Award speech.