Stop Loss by Brandon
This movie was o.k. I thought it would be better than it was. The story was good and so were the actors, but it had too many cliches and the movie was too drawn out. Average.

Soldier Rebels Against "Back Door Draft"

"Stop-Loss," the second feature film directed by Kimberly Peirce, focuses on a group of army buddies. We see them in a fire fight in Tikrit, Iraq that leaves several in their squad either dead or severely injured.
Their leader, Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), is thrilled to complete his tour of duty and return to his Texas hometown. There, he is greeted as a hero, decorated with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and told by his senator to look him up in Washington if he needs anything. Civilian life is looking good to Brandon when he is unexpectedly ordered back to Iraq, or stop-lossed.
Outraged at the army's failure to fulfill its part of his contract, Brandon decides to fight the order. Instead of going back to base, he goes to Washington to seek the help of the senator. But because he is AWOL, the senator will not see him. He has become a fugitive, with both military and local police looking for him.
This is the first film about Iraq to really engage the viewer. "Rendition," "Redacted," and "Lions for Lambs" were more preachy than entertaining, and never attracted large audiences. "Stop-Loss" is a far more personal look at the human dimension of one policy, rather than an outright condemnation of the war,
Brandon and his pals Steve (Channing Tatum), Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Rico (Victor Rasuk) are good soldiers. They do their duty, facing danger at every turn without complaint. In fact, Steve objects when he learns that Brandon is going against orders to fight a system he feels is unjust. Brandon refers to the stop-loss policy as a back-door draft -- keeping soldiers after their contracts are up because recruitment is down and every one is needed to fight in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
At first, Peirce wanted to make a documentary about the stop-loss policy and interviewed some actual soldiers, but eventually settled on this fictional film using stop-loss as its key plot point. She may have been too ambitious in telling Brandon's story and intercutting it with Tommy's self-destructive alcoholism and Steve's shaky relationship with his girlfriend, Michele (Amy Cornish). Earlier films, such as "The Deer Hunter" and "Coming Home," have dealt with post-war trauma of returning soldiers, so the scenes involving Tommy and Steve are pretty predictable. Phillippe is a fine actor who is just now getting larger roles in films. He was excellent in both "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Breach," and now adds another exceptional performance with "Stop-Loss." With a believable Texas twang, his Brandon registers as a regular guy who has become an excellent soldier. He would no more think of disobeying an order than juggling scorpions. He is respectful, honest, obedient, and courageous. But he never comes across as a goody-goody. He enjoys kicking back a few beers and raising hell on Saturday night with his pals. So his Everyman is a guy we look up to. When he decides to go AWOL, it is both dramatic and shocking. Phillippe portrays Brandon not as a guy who wants to run. His first instinct is to right an injustice, but the army, politics, and bureaucracy conspire against him.
The film has great strengths. The opening sequence, beautifully staged and edited, shows Brandon in Iraq leading his men into what turns out to be an ambush. We get a real feel for the fear that soldiers deployed in Iraq must undergo. Trapped in a narrow alley, their vehicle and heavy machine gun destroyed, they have to battle gunfire from the roofs on both sides of the street, sheltering in strange buildings where death can wait at every turn. These scenes rank with the most realistic movie battle scenes.
Another strong scene is Brandon's visit to Rico in a veteran's hospital. Rico is severely disabled from the ambush in Iraq, yet retains his sense of humor and optimism. As squad leader, Brandon feels responsibility for Rico's condition, yet is helpless to do more than pay him a visit and offer encouragement. Rasuk, first seen on screen five years ago in "Raising Victor Vargas," is a natural actor with great charm. His small role and one memorable scene add resonance to the story, contrasting Rico's constructive attitude with Tommy's inability to get a grip on civilian life.
I was happy to see that Peirce avoided typical pitfalls. A road trip Brandon takes with Michele, for example, remains just that, with no romantic complications. The relationship between Brandon and his buddy's girlfriend is not typical Hollywood, and that's precisely why it rings true.
"Stop-Loss," rated R, is both the engaging story of one soldier trapped by an unfair, desperate practice, and a cautionary tale of how government policy can betray those who fight our wars.

Excellent Movie!
A great movie to see if you want a fun understanding of what this terrible war is doing to the troupes. Gut-wrenching and heart-felt.

Well-intentioned but flawed
Stop-Loss is a solid, well-intentioned film that has its moments but somehow doesn't quite come together to deliver the full emotional or intellectual impact it should have had. Ryan Phillippe shines as a good soldier torn between duty, honor and the haunting memories of his time in Iraq, and the rest of the cast is solid, particularly Victor Rasuk's understated performance as a severely injured private whose spirit may or may not be broken.

The camera effects in the first act are a little distracting at times, and the road trip in the second act is stretched a bit longer than necessary, but well-deserved kudos to Kimberly Peirce for shining a light on an underreported aspect of the war and taking a nuanced shades of gray approach to her subject -- the Stop Loss policy itself is bad enough, there's no need to offer bad guy caricatures -- and going with the only ending that made sense.

It's not the defining generational classic some have claimed, but it's definitely worth a rental.

An Arm, A Leg & An Eye
Director Kimberley Peirce keeps the pace going well in this film about US soldier fighting in Iraq who find that they are being returned to active duty via the stop-loss clause. Ryan Philippe has been in a number of films that I like such as Crash (Widescreen Edition), Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition), Chaos & Breach (Widescreen Edition). As Sgt. Brandon King, he is the squad leader who looks forward to concluding his military service after experiencing the death of his fellow soldiers.

The homecoming sequences speak of soldiers who have suffered Post Traumatic Stress and the confusion of their families who do not quite know how to deal with wounded spirits, minds and bodies. Channing Tatum from She's the Man (Widescreen Edition) & Supercross does an excellent job as the confused soldier. The scene where he digs a trench in his front yard and totes a gun around is scary. Australian actress Abbie Cornish who was in Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition) does a credible job with the American accent as the girl who befriends Brandon and dumps Steve when he reenlists. Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is familiar from TV's "Third Rock from the Sun" plays Tommy Burges who gets so crazy that he gets booted out of the service even though he wants to stay in. Timothy Olyphant who was great as the lead in Hitman (Unrated Edition) plays Lt. Col. Boot Miller and talks the company line to his soldiers. His decision to throw Brandon King into the brig ignites King's escape and sets up the last two-thirds of the film. Meryl Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer plays Tommy's wife and does well graveside. Gummer did an excellent job in Evening and shines in this small role. Linda Emond who was in Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition) & North Country (Widescreen Edition) is very sympathetic and loyal to her son Brandon as his mother Ida King. Veteran actor Ciaran Hinds plays Brandon's father Roy. Victor Rasuk has an outstanding cameo as the injured Rico Rodriguez who loses an arm, a leg and his vision.

Yes, there are politics about the war that the film addresses. The film reflects that war is an awful experience. Our fighting men and women are put into hellish circumstances that no father nor mother would wish on their children, but which world events prove necessary. In a democracy such as ours, the people can change course or stay the course on Election Day. I don't think you can fault the President for doing what he feels is appropriate or the soldiers who fight the war. The ultimate responsibility is with the American people. Ultimately this conflict is their choice IMHO. However, "Stop-Loss" is not politics. It deals in an artful manner with the consequences of war. It does it honestly, even-handedly & with some excellent acting talent. The DVD extra deleted scenes were interesting to watch. The ending did not seem to fit the rest of the film, however. It was as if the screenwirter or producer insisted that the film shift gears rather than letting the film conclude in a natural organic way. Enjoy!