Stop-Loss
The bravest place to stand is by each other's side.
Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. He tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his family and his best friend, Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum), who served with him in Iraq. Along with their other war buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon's will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq, which upends his world. The conflict tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor.
Member Reviews
Disapointing - detersti
Maybe it's because it's an MTV production, but the entire plot seemed a little too predictable, cliche, and aimed at a much younger audience. I couldn't tell if it was a promotional effort by the US Army to up recruitment, even though the story is anything but positive, but these days marketing and messaging has become more complex and perhaps just getting the "I kick ass because I'm in the US Army" message out there is more important than the overal story. Anyway, disapointing and I honestly considered shutting this off half way through.to be understand - JOE52
This movie is not about war. It's about the men who almost gave their lives for their country and familly and are forced to go back to war to roll the dice again. I think that the actors showed how thorn the soldiers are when they come back from abroad. I recommend this movie to everybody who wants to see another angle to the war.
C'est un tres bon film que je recommande a tout ceux qui veulent voir un autre cote de la medaille de la guerre.A Lost Stop - BlackSheep
A bunch of American army boys piss away their time at camp. Before long, the team is manning a road blockade. Director Kimberly Pierce keeps the framing and the editing tight in this opening sequence and shoots the intensity high into the clear-blue, Iraq sky. Each car that approaches the young, scattered soldiers could be a disaster. One second they’re lusting over a girl back home, the next they find themselves in the middle of a full-on ambush. The lot of them all fall into line and show what good soldiers are made of – boys that become men in a moment’s notice without thinking. And then they fight. Moves are made in as calculated a fashion as is allowed in the back alleys of a foreign land. Some of the men live and some die fighting. Within minutes, STOP-LOSS has you and then without warning, the film suddenly turns into a hip-hop musical montage, establishing the stop-and-start pulse of the film that ultimately leaves it for a loss.
At one point, a soldier makes a homecoming speech to the people of his Texas town. Midway, he is overwhelmed by how much he has been affected by the simple sights and smells of his home and he cannot go on. Everything he was fighting for becomes clear to him but a fellow officer interrupts his speech in favor of a more crowd-rousing message. People don’t want to face the reality of the war; they just want to hear that their side is winning. And while Pierce’s point is important and still firmly made, it is impossible to feel as if this film that took so many years to make is actually the film she intended and not a film that was designed to profit from a specific market. Still, it is worth applauding for providing a product that will be most enjoyed and appreciated by the demographic that is actually fighting on the front lines as opposed to an older generation that until now has been able to just sit back in the theatre and quietly criticize the war from afar.
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Member Reviews
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Disapointing - detersti
Maybe it's because it's an MTV production, but the entire plot seemed a little too predictable, cliche, and aimed at a much younger audience. I couldn't tell if it was a promotional effort by the US Army to up recruitment, even though the story is anything ...to be understand - JOE52
This movie is not about war. It's about the men who almost gave their lives for their country and familly and are forced to go back to war to roll the dice again. I think that the actors showed how thorn the soldiers are when they come back from abroad. ...A Lost Stop - BlackSheep
A bunch of American army boys piss away their time at camp. Before long, the team is manning a road blockade. Director Kimberly Pierce keeps the framing and the editing tight in this opening sequence and shoots the intensity high into the clear-blue, Iraq ...