NOW ON DVD

STOP-LOSS
Rated R
Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothy Olyphant

Brian’s Rating       

The carnage of battle, the burden of command, and the nobility of the common soldier are recurring themes in Hollywood’s depiction of war, and virtually every conflict in our country’s history has its signature film.

However Stop-Loss, now on DVD, and the latest movie to address the war in Iraq, is a far cry from the Civil War’s Glory, WWI’s Sergeant York, WWII’s The Bridge on the River Kwai, or Vietnam’s Platoon.

I think that the mark of a solid picture about military conflict is its ability to blur the line between good and evil, but in the case of Stop-Loss, the designated villain is all too clear.

The U.S. government’s apparently common practice of involuntary re-enlistment of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan provides the film’s storyline, and a handful of capable young actors show us the unique horror that is the conflict in the Middle East.

Perhaps by necessity, the film’s gloomy subject matter makes it tough to endure, and an excess of violence and despair diminishes its potential appeal.