Russell has created an interesting hybrid of a movie bringing together the adventure stories of H Rider Haggard, the westerns of Ford / Wayne, and the anti war comedy style of M.A.S.H. Gritty and funny in equal measure, Russell has attempted a biting satire of the war / adventure movie and generally succeeds. However, the need to appeal to a wider audience means the introduction of a few clunky plot devices, and the inevitable happy ending.
The acting swings from the professionalism of Clooney, to the increasingly erratic style of Mr Cube. Spike Jones' turn as Conrad Vig is impressive and Wahlberg manages to be inoffensive as the soldier who eventually sees the a reflection of his own life and family in the traumatised Iraqis.
The movie maybe tries too hard to spell out the obvious - war is bad, everybody suffers, America can be good as well as bad, not all foreigners are terrorists. But Russell I suppose manages to tread a fine line between US imperialist action / adventure movie and satire of US military incompetence.
All-in-all, Worth giving up a couple of hours for.
The acting swings from the professionalism of Clooney, to the increasingly erratic style of Mr Cube. Spike Jones' turn as Conrad Vig is impressive and Wahlberg manages to be inoffensive as the soldier who eventually sees the a reflection of his own life and family in the traumatised Iraqis.
The movie maybe tries too hard to spell out the obvious - war is bad, everybody suffers, America can be good as well as bad, not all foreigners are terrorists. But Russell I suppose manages to tread a fine line between US imperialist action / adventure movie and satire of US military incompetence.
All-in-all, Worth giving up a couple of hours for.