Welcome To The Suck...IF You Wanted To See The Trailer

Rating: 6/10 (2 November 2005)

I would agree with the one author here on many terms. The movie doesn't have what feels like a complete story. It is more of a "slice of a life" movie that doesn't answer all questions and leaves you with many more as you only see a specific period in the character's life. If I were betting, I'd say the adaptation of the book caused many a headache for the director and screenwriter. Adaptations are notorious for making disjointed films and this one seems another victim. Not that it is bad, there are many funny parts, many parts that wrench your gut if you have been through similar circumstances, and you do develop feelings for the characters. As for the people that saw the trailer and were hoping for another "Top Gun", they will be disappointed. This is more about disillusionment than bravado. If the military hadn't already seen the script (I'm assuming they did, and of course denied assistance) they might be hoping to see enlistment quotas go up. Not likely, unless the appeal of the scenes of homo-erotic camaraderie in the film override the scenes of hazing, "Dear John" letters and...well...other seriously unpleasant things. I came away with the feeling that the film tries to convey the point that the infantryman is a dying breed being replaced by technology not unlike the cowboy of the old west who had to give up the open range to settle down and drive a truck to work. All in all, I would recommend seeing this movie and look forward to the Oscars for nominations, especially for Sarsgaard.