Not your typical blood and guts war epic

Rating: 9/10 (19 August 2009)

This is one of those "diamond in the rough" motion pictures, which sadly didn't get the big Hollywood budget and box office attracting stars. I had never even heard of this movie or the factual event portrayed until I was idly perusing through the movie database.
There are nay Sayers complaining about this movie being predictable and clichéd. But guess what? The events portrayed are based on fact and yes, life itself is often predictable and clichéd. If you went to see this movie to see a shoot 'em up WWII epic with predictable plot twists, sorry that you wasted your time on this one. This is by no means your typical "Saving Private Ryan" type WWII movie, with it's gratuitous blood and guts scenes shot all over the screen. However, if you enjoy a thought provoking portrayal of what can happen to one's sensibilities during periods of extreme stress, then by all means this fits the bill.
The story centers on two GI'sone is a bible carrying sharp shooting sniper, and the other an atheist medic. What's important in this story is not necessarily the opposing viewpoints of the two, but more important the human interactions that take place between them and the others involved in the plot. The actors were all quite capable of portraying the events of this story, with a particularly solid performance by Corbin Allred (Deacon). In the end, the differences in ideology didn't matter. What really mattered is how human beings treat and respect each other. There is a lesson that can be taught to our young people from this story, hopefully before they are laid claim to the cynicism and inlaid cultural biases already too prevalent among adults.