Adds to the ranks of films on the Iraq war that very few people will volunteer to see, not merely because the topic is difficult but because...it's so terribly uneven.
1 Comment
03/27/08
Stop-Loss (2008)
64
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:89
Rotten:49
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Stop-Loss is sincere and complex, and features strong performances, even if it tries to cover too much ground.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Aug 7, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $10,796,776
Synopsis: Director Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY) tackles another controversial topic with STOP-LOSS, the story of a U.S. soldier forced back into battle. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has just returned to... [More]
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Reviews for Stop-Loss
Stop-Loss goes in too many directions at once, and most of those directions are predictable.
03/27/08
If the war effort is bent on alienating the core of troop morale while frightening potential recruits from joining up, mission accomplished.
03/27/08
Strangely, it has come out at once too soon and - for those who have already been stop-lossed - too late.
03/27/08
While Phillippe does a creditable job and Cornish is suitably torn by her divided loyalties to two men, Tatum and especially Gordon-Levitt are utterly wasted, used like extras when either of their stories seems interesting enough for a film of its own.
03/27/08
Despite structural deficiencies, 'Stop-Loss' is a riveting assault on the Pentagon's abuse of power during the Iraq war.
03/26/08
Strewn story parts pile up in Stop-Loss, a painfully polite Iraq war drama pitched at the MTV generation.
03/26/08
Brilliantly observed and vividly shot, built on a career-making performance by Ryan Phillippe, its an Iraq War movie for Americans whove been avoiding Iraq movies, even the good ones such as In the Valley of Elah.
03/26/08
Being better than In the Valley of Elah’s lazy view of returning vets as damaged and mentally depraved isn’t good enough.
03/26/08
Stop-Loss has painted itself into a dramatic corner, which might be the most honest expression of the filmmaker's empathy for the men and women serving in Iraq.
03/26/08
Stop-Loss is far less about the Iraq War than a study of the soldiers and what makes them tick. Through her superlative script, Kimberly Peirce captures the heart of what makes soldiers do what they do even in light of the story's betrayal.
03/25/08
deserves praise for dealing honestly with a thorny issue where most other filmmakers would simply resort to propaganda.
03/25/08
Might never be viewed as light entertainment, but the strong performances and ideas make it a satisfying film, one that you can ponder and discuss, as well as a powerful tribute to our troops.
03/25/08
Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Pearce attempts to anchor the Iraq War debate in the lives of a specific subset of soldiers and nearly pulls it off. But her promising premise runs into a rut of incompatible accents and melodramatic excess.
03/24/08
Maddening, upsetting, and articulate, it's a film that dares to address a malicious tentacle of Government expediency connected to a much larger monster.
03/21/08
Even when the script slips into sentiment, [director] Peirce sticks with her troubled, questing soldiers, and through this raw and riveting movie, they stick with us.
03/20/08
A wildly uneven drama, by turns sincere and synthetic.
03/17/08
Top CriticSharply uneven, Peirce's film is structurally flawed in the first reels, but it improves considerably in the second half, which documents the dramatic effects of a controversial, little known government policy on a cligue of friends.
03/12/08
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