A Tragic Insight On The Emotions of War!

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2013)

By definition, Stop-Loss is an order issued by the United States that would extend one's time in action after their time serving is done during times of war. This movie is a powerful, tragic look on the trauma soldiers face after leaving the action. We see how these lives are far from normal and how war not only personally affects them, but the lives around them. This film may be seen to have a political agenda, but then again the Iraqi war was all just for political nonsense in the first place.
Kimberly Peirce's film is about a U.S Army Staff Sergeant named Brandon who becomes traumatized along with this two friends back home after he accidentally killed innocent people overseas. While thinking he is home for good, he realizes that he is going to be sent back despite his resistance.
This film is well-acted and is full of rising stars. Ryan Phillippe does a good job as Brandon and he makes us sympathize for him and practically every soldier on he job. Channing Tatum is pretty good even though I felt he seemed a little wooden and moody. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is my favorite actor in this movie and I wish I saw more of him in the movie.
Overall, this is a powerful take on what war will do to you and how it will change you. This is a film about today's generation of wars and how powerful they have become. Like it or not, the United States was in a war for no reason and despite all the bravery, these young men were dying for no reason. That is what the message of the film is. It's an underrated, but vastly powerful film. I rate this film 9/10.