Stop Loss Synopsis: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.
My Review:
First of all, it might be helpful to know that the co-Writer, co-Producer and Director of this film was the Director of BOYS DON'T CRY (Kimberly Peirce) which earned Hillary Swank her first Oscar in 2000. It might also be helpful for you to know that I am personally against the war in Iraq. Before seeing this movie I hadn't ever heard of the term "Stop Loss" and I didn't know that it was an official military term. I thought it was just some clever marketing title so this was an educational movie just as much as it was an entertaining one as I'm sure was the intention. Overall, I enjoyed this movie and I felt glad that they made it....it feels important that this is put out into the world. I left the screening feeling so sad for those that have gone through this and who continue to go through this. I thought the acting was great. Ryan Phillippe was amazing and more and more I'm starting to really enjoy watching his performances. (He was amazing in CRASH and BREACH.) The other actors are great too. I never forgot that this is an MTV film because it definitely had that vibe throughout. Don't get me wrong, I was happy that MTV was behind a film about the realities of the war due to their demographic. Young people should see this movie for sure. I've recently been told that military recruiters are at high schools now! I think that's horrible because these kids are listening to what the recruiters are saying and believing every word and signing up before having any discussions with their parents. ANYWAY, I was 100% behind Ryan's character's struggle throughout the movie and they did a great job of not glorifying the war yet not preaching about what's bad about it either. It showed a group of all-American kids working hard for our country getting screwed over and abandoned by the very government that they gave their lives to. What you thought of that in the end was your own thing. I heard some people say that nobody will want to see this movie because seeing movies about the war is "depressing" and people just want to be entertained. I don't agree. Yes, the TRANSFORMERS and INDIANA JONES of the world are a ton of fun and they do take our minds off of our troubles, but sometimes it's just as equally good for the soul to watch a movie about something that we SHOULD be paying attention to and this movie is that type of movie. If SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and PLATOON and SCHINDLER'S LIST can do so well at the box office, STOP LOSS can too. I believe that as long as it's not preachy or condescending, people will watch movies about serious topics. I guess we'll find out for sure next weekend!
