Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Really Surprised!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Prisoners has been treated far worse int tthe reaialty

This movie is full of misinformation, holes, and downright misleading. I was one of the soldiers of the 72nd that opened that prison in 2003 (March-November). The very first unit to step foot in that prison. This is in no way what took place. If you are looking for a some kind of historical documentary, as I was, look some place else. All this is, is some Hollywood magic and creative writing for entertainment ONLY. You don't request to just be an MP, then go working a prison. It is a job you have to train for, just like civilian law enforcement. I guess I am bitter due to the fact that I was there, I dealt with the inmates, the working environment, and the constant threat of death or physical harm, by the inmates and outside insurgents. We did not have friends on the other side of the wire. They wanted to kill you, not have a cup of chai. The inmates would clap and cheer at seeing American soldiers hit by mortar fire in the compound. If you called this movie "Prison X" and made no mention of Abu Ghraib, then at least, you wouldn't be feeding a line of crap to the public about something you have no clue about.

Let me start out by saying its a damn good film. I like it especially because it's not a film that paints the soldiers there as complete monsters as the media would have you believe.Now. What this film is about is simply the repercussions of being in the kind of messed up situation a lot of these guys were in. Our main character for instance almost got killed, got humiliated, and basically had to deal with all sorts of s h i t both from his superiors as well as inmates he was in charge of. That kind of thing changes you without question and that is what this film attempts to show us. The ending part of the film asks the question: What kind of person could do something like this. Like... were these guys sadists before all this happened...did they enjoy it....was it part of them...were they forced to by their superiors?... So many theories, so many answers...Now. The conclusion we reach here is that when you are surrounded by so much bad stuff it CAN change you. You might not enjoy what you do but you start to come to terms with it due to the fact that the guys you're messing up aren't innocent at all. Lots of people might argue the dehumanization factor that plays a part psychologically but personally I find it to be far simpler than that. Our main character was sure that he was dealing with an innocent man. Later he becomes convinced the same guy was lying to him and thus he changes his behavior towards him and everybody else. Whether the man was innocent or not is not made clear due to the torture present. But what matters is the simple fact that the guy felt betrayed. He went from seeing him as a friend to as an enemy. Therein lies the acceptance of the brutality which many find to be totally unacceptable and impossible to relate to. What some people forget though might be what they themselves might do when in the care of terrorists who's got the blood of dozens on their hands. Lotta people wanted this film to focus on the torture and painting the American guards as devils but thats is NOT what this film is about. We know about all that already. What we don't know about is what happened from the American soldier's perspective and THAT is what this film brings to the table. A refreshing change in my opinion.This film is in my opinion NOT about sadism, cruelty, evil, being subject to the strict orders of those above you. To me this film is about humanity. What we feel and thus what we do when we encounter people we despise and hate due to how they are or how we think they are. Our main character here was under the impression he was dealing with monsters, murderers, terrorists etc. How would you expect a man to react when in the company of such scum. Some would argue the guard to remain professional but deep down that is not realistic. We humans act on our emotions. Even soldiers. That is what we see here. Humanity both on good and bad and in between. It's a great film and its a MUST see for people who know about what happened in the Abu Ghraib prison during the war. It will grant you another view into what happened. An important view in my own personal opinion. All in all you need to understand what this film is REALLY about. Once again the focus is on what the title implies. The boys...of Abu Ghraib. If you fail to see that you will most likely not understand nor see the film for what it really is. I have already seen a review that was written by a guy who CLEARLY missed that entirely. You must accept this particular film for what it is and where its focus lies and not where you wanted it to be. I believe this to be a very good film. A solid watch. I think a 6 out of 10 is fair. A really good film indeed. Good because it doesn't strike me as biased in any way. But manages to include features both good and evil in regard to humanity itself, tells a story of one particular guard and his experiences there and still manages to NOT appear one sided.

Certainly a watchable movie at least. Could have been better. Still, I was drawn into the story and found it entertaining... Well rounded American boy finds himself in a rear echelon outfit in Iraq. Originally working in a motor pool. He hears the prison next door is short staffed and willing to take non military-police personnel as guards. It all becomes factual at that point, leading to a similar situation to the well known abuses and tell-all photos of the scandal we saw on every news channel back in the day.The side stories are not developed enough and are too cliché'. It makes soldiers appear too emotionally fragile. There is a scene where one squad mate goes nuts, has a situational reaction, but its not believable. At least show the soldier getting a dear Jon letter on top of having financial stress, losing his home or something. But no, they make it look like rear echelon soldiers go nuts for no reason. They also do not develop the lead character's reason for volunteering for guard duty. Show these guys on the road dodging IED's, then it would make sense to volunteer as a guard in Abu Ghraib. These things need to be portrayed to the audience to make the movie believable.The movie does not fall completely flat. What saves it is the relationship the character develops with one of the prisoners in the cell block he is guarding. There is also constant tension in the scenes within cell block, as the guard is alone with several prisoners. This keeps the viewer interested as the story progresses. The guard walks a fine line between maintaining control or becoming abusive.I had no problem with the ending. Frankly I wondering where the real life news stories of Abu Ghraib were going to meet the fiction. Just as I said: Is this about the same Abu Ghraib? I had my answer.