Interesting examination of modern warfare.

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2005)

This is not your typical war movie. I went into this expecting some kind of pro-military film, when I came out, I wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't anti-war, but it wasn't pro-war. It was just war, in a very realistic sense. There was of course a bit of the film that wasn't so realistic I think and that's the actual war portion of the film. They go into the ground war and it just ends. The troops never even get to fire their rifles. The entire war is fought by planes and tanks. And yet while this may seem unrealistic, this is absolutely what happened in the first Persian Gulf war. This tense and frightening build up that lasts for most of the film, and in the soldiers' experience, most of their time in the Corps, ends in this terrible anti-climax. The final scene of the war really conveys this dual nature of the war's end. Celebrationa nd disappointment. You can really feel the frustration of the troops out in "the suck" who get all this build up to kill someone and go to war and never feel the release of actual combat. While the film is still discussing training, Swoff keeps repeating "I was hooked, I wanted the red mist." All he wanted was to kill someone. All that training, that million dollar training, and he fires his rifle.