Home of the Brave (2006)

the audience applauded

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I deployed to Iraq as a Marine, and later specialized in Wounded Warrior issues. Additionally, many of my friends have suffered long-term effects from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore, this movie was pretty much must-see for me as soon as I read the description.The film accurately depicts many of the struggles that Veterans face upon their return from deployment, or discharge. Jackson and Biel did an especially great job conveying their frustrations with non-verbal acting...often, it's what a Veteran can't say that is the worst burden of all. Jackson and Biel managed to wear these emotions appropriately and do Veterans justice, which is not an easy task. Jackson's role was particularly important, as he illustrated that PTSD is immune to rank and MOS...while this is not even close to my favorite movie that he's been in, it is one of his best performances. 50 Cent was pretty decent, as well, bouncing appropriately between rage and frustration, and passionately delivering script about Veterans' demons like it was a hot verse from a new hit song.Just as important as the Veterans in this movie were the civilians surrounding them upon their return. The film depicts a realistic gamut of interactions, from silly, potentially insulting questions to genuine concern, frustration, and communication barriers. Rowell stood out, ably playing one of the most-unsung heroes of the war, the military wife.Beware, though: after an initial burst of action in the beginning, the pace slows down a great deal, and the movie's focus turns more to character development and examining Veterans' problems, rather than to plot development and resolution. Thus, this film has much more value as an insight into Wounded Warrior issues than as a good story with a well- defined plot. Additionally, I didn't care much for Presley or Murray in their roles; their pixie-like features, tweezed eyebrows, and soft mannerisms were not the right fit for their blue-collar, combat-hardened roles, in my opinion. Maybe they should stick to shows like General Hospital and One Tree Hill...For more no-holds-barred reviews and a kickass podcast, check out www.livemancave.com

I probably have a different point of view than most reviews, being an actual Iraq War veteran.This movie is quite terrible from the start. A bizarrely organized Washington National Guard unit is caught an ambush. Unfortunately, it's so patently obviously they're being herded into a kill zone, and they do absolutely nothing to prevent it, that it's difficult to feel sympathy for anyone dumb enough to allow themselves to get trapped that easily. It gets even more absurd as a fire team of four guys decides to abandon their vehicles and run blindly into a numerically superior force with overwhelming firepower. Again, my response was "serves you idiots right" when someone gets killed.The three main characters are Lt. Col. Marsh, a medical officer; Sgt Price, a female mechanic; and two enlisted infantrymen, Yates and Jamal. Yes, they all ended up in the same ambush. Don't ask.Marsh hits the bottle and clashes with his rebellious anti-war son, culminating in an unintentionally hilarious drunken Thanksgiving scene.Price loses a hand to an IED, and she becomes a bitter and angry at the world.Jamal is just angry, and his mumbling is nearly unintelligible. He flips out at a group therapy session, complete with a random appearance by a grizzled Vietnam veteran. Don't ask.Yates is supposed to be the emotional center of this film, but between his limited acting ability and the poorly written script, you just want him to stop whining. His civilian employer blatantly violates the federal USERRA law, and his response is to do nothing. He even gives the cheesy "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE OVER THERE, MAN!" speech.What little suspension of disbelief is frequently broken by the poor production values, lack of research, and training. None of the actors look remotely comfortable holding a weapon, wearing a uniform (the berets in particular look ridiculous), or doing anything even remotely military-related. Random military jargon is thrown into the dialogue, even if it is completely out of place, or totally nonsensical in context.The main problem is none of the characters have a realistic character arc. They go from damaged to whole again for little or no reason. It's like going from A to C with no B.

I don't like being so negative, but my God, this was bad. I should have researched this before I bought it. It started good. Some nice action and good stuff going on. Then it turned into Lifetime's Movie of the Week. I wanted to see Samuel Jackson kicking ass and taking names. But instead all I got was him drinking and kicking his annoying teenager son in the ass which as annoying as he was, it was nice. Then the other 3 soldiers were boring too. All this was, was a "remembering" the war and how screwed up life is now for them. It reminded me of Dead Presidents in a remote way. But Dead Prsidents was way better. Curtis Jackson is as annoynig as an actor as he is a rapper. This is good if you want film to watch and think "wow, those guys have it really bad". Certainly not for action fans.

As I read the reviews, I can't help but think that the people who trash this movie are ardent Bush/War fans, for their criticism seems specious. It's far from being the best movie I've ever seen, or the best acting. What it is is a collection of accounts of how peoples' lives have been shattered by a political excursion that had no justification... and still doesn't. It shows the wasted lives and even defends the cause, which I thought made it more than impartial. Jackson's character defends the invasion as does Presley's. But all are overwhelmed by it and the tragic consequences of the conflict. The plot makes sense. The acting is fair, not terrible. The subject matter is handled evenly, presenting neither a pro war or con position, which is very hard to do. But for those who think that we must rally around the flag at all costs, this film is clearly an anathema. This invasion was started with lies and many people believe that we need to continue to lie to "Support the Troops." The best way to support the troops is to tell the truth, as this movie tries to do and to finally bring them home... not in coffins.