Powerful Film Ultimately Marred by an Anti-Christian Theme and a Terribly Hollow Ending

Rating: 4/10 (6 December 2009)

The good: Excellent acting, great direction, superior character development and dialog.
The bad: Horribly bleak ending, and I mean bleak beyond words. Due to the 'Good" I really liked those folks, and the ending really bothered me.
The ugly: Ridiculously distorted portrayal of religious belief with barely a shred of alternative perspective. Essentially, the evil inside (the fruitcake Fundamentalist) was just as dangerous as the evil outside. Although the movie established the 'evil inside' as a fruitcake early on, she's obviously merely a vehicle to convey the film maker's prejudice against Christianity. No significant alternative religious perspective was portrayed: just one hyper-fundamentalist inciting the weak-minded and fatalistic towards frenzy and slaughter.
Ultimately, a terribly wasted effort. This movie is yet another example of the modern emptiness and shallowness of Hollywood, the juvenile distortions that are supposed to pass for social commentary these days: Christianity Bad! US Military Bad!
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