War drama. With Ryan Phillippe, Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Channing Tatum. Director: Kimberly Peirce. 16LV. Opens 7 November.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Leon van Nierop
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
An American soldier who has just completed his tour of duty in Iraq is unexpectedly called back into action - and when he decides to desert it has dramatic consequences.
WHO WILL ENJOY IT?
If you enjoy combat videogames this is not your kind of movie. Don’t expect a war flick in the vein of Blood Diamond, with macho men taming wild landscapes and eating hand grenades for breakfast. This drama takes a serious look at American soldiers who are fighting and often dying in a country where they don’t belong. It laments the tragedy of troops who’ve survived human slaughter in a desert hell only to be sent back to face the bullets all over again. It says their country is using them as cannon fodder. War junkies may enjoy the action but with Hollywood’s top hunks providing eye candy it’s also aimed at women.
WAIT FOR DVD?
No. War always looks better on the big screen, even if the bombs going off are of the domestic rather than the battlefield variety. The drama is often intimate and the focus isn’t always on the thunderously violent scenes but rather on issues such as conscience, disillusionment, misplaced patriotism and inner conflict. The film works as a human drama filled with emotional turmoil - but it’s not for action junkies.
SIMILAR FILMS
Jarhead; Jacob’s Ladder.
