This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 11:24 am and is filed under Drama, H, NEW ON VIDEO, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Irwin Winkler
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Brian Presley, Curtis Jackson (50 Cent), Christina Ricci,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a favorite condition for the characters in touching Hollywood dramas and we have seen former soldiers showing its effects on film many times. This is a well-acted drama from that genre, though, here there is a female soldier suffering after her return from combat. That is something new, at least. The story would have been better with fewer characters, with more development, and with a little more going on with them. The story is thin here.
An American unit is Iraq is scheduled to go home after a long tour, but before they pack their bags, they are sent on a humanitarian mission and get ambushed. It gets messy, and the survivors head home to deal with the loss, pain and guilt. Christina Ricci is wasted in a small, inconsequential role, but 50 Cent shows some ability in his second on-screen performance. Samuel L. Jackson is as talented as ever, and Jessica Biel continues to impress me, but there is just not enough to work with here and make this film stand out.
This idea has been done many times before and often finds its way to the podium at the Academy awards, but this film, as well crafted as it is, just made me depressed. Strictly for fans who pine for the return of such works as Born On The Fourth of July, and Coming Home. Its not as good as those Oscar winners, but it is cut from the same cloth.
