Home of the Brave (2006)

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This movie's nothing like Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now and that kind of anti-war movies ... but it's certainly not pro-war either ...in fact, it's not exactly anti-war in the traditional sense ... but it leaves it well to the viewer to decide for himself if war is bad or good or ...the tv-movie style in which this movie's been made, makes it look and sound 'simple' at first ... and i believe that's what makes it a good show in that it's not trying to be a masterpiece, the way Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now are ...don't get me wrong though: i love both of those two movies, epics! but this one not being an epic (on purpose perhaps?) doesn't mean it's not just as great ... maybe it could be a 'shocking' anti-war movie the way the other two are and then attract more viewers and sell high at the box office, maybe ... but i'm glad it's been made like a plain tv movie ... now it has even more impact i'd say ...

After getting notice that they're soon going home, an American unit gets ambushed in Iraq. Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson) leads the drivers. Single mom Vanessa Price (Jessica Biel) survives a blast but loses her hand. Tommy Yates (Brian Presley) holds his dying best friend Owens in his arms. Jamal Aiken (50 Cent) gets hurts tripping over some bricks. They return to Spokane. Surgeon Marsh is dealing PTSD and his anti-war son Billy. Yates loses his job. Price deals with her hand and angry Aiken is haunted by killing a civilian.The opening action scenes contain both the good and the bad of this movie. It does some compelling action. It's got good intensity. Then this ends in one of the most old-fashion melodramatic overwrought-music cry-holding-dying-buddy scene possible. That is the pull-push of this movie. It is sincere in its portrayal of the home front but it is also very on-the-nose. It's got good intentions. Everybody is acting well. It does need to pull back the melodrama.

Wow I really liked this movie, I'm surprised by all the mediocre reviews actually. I enjoyed getting an insight into the overlooked side of war, which would be trying to re-assimilate back home and the struggles faced there.The story is emotional, unflinching and neither for or against the war, this is without political agenda. The opening battle scenes are well done and super suspenseful. And I liked how it connected everyone for the remainder of the movie, which follows 4 separate veterans and their very different stories as they struggle to readjust to life after returning home from a lengthy tour in Iraq.I was impressed with Jessica Biel here for the first time ever and Samuel L Jackson, damn I had forgotten that the man can actually act, its been so long since I've seen him be anything other than Samuel Mother F'n Jackson, he did a great job. 02/13

I probably have a different point of view than most reviews, being an actual Iraq War veteran.This movie is quite terrible from the start. A bizarrely organized Washington National Guard unit is caught an ambush. Unfortunately, it's so patently obviously they're being herded into a kill zone, and they do absolutely nothing to prevent it, that it's difficult to feel sympathy for anyone dumb enough to allow themselves to get trapped that easily. It gets even more absurd as a fire team of four guys decides to abandon their vehicles and run blindly into a numerically superior force with overwhelming firepower. Again, my response was "serves you idiots right" when someone gets killed.The three main characters are Lt. Col. Marsh, a medical officer; Sgt Price, a female mechanic; and two enlisted infantrymen, Yates and Jamal. Yes, they all ended up in the same ambush. Don't ask.Marsh hits the bottle and clashes with his rebellious anti-war son, culminating in an unintentionally hilarious drunken Thanksgiving scene.Price loses a hand to an IED, and she becomes a bitter and angry at the world.Jamal is just angry, and his mumbling is nearly unintelligible. He flips out at a group therapy session, complete with a random appearance by a grizzled Vietnam veteran. Don't ask.Yates is supposed to be the emotional center of this film, but between his limited acting ability and the poorly written script, you just want him to stop whining. His civilian employer blatantly violates the federal USERRA law, and his response is to do nothing. He even gives the cheesy "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE OVER THERE, MAN!" speech.What little suspension of disbelief is frequently broken by the poor production values, lack of research, and training. None of the actors look remotely comfortable holding a weapon, wearing a uniform (the berets in particular look ridiculous), or doing anything even remotely military-related. Random military jargon is thrown into the dialogue, even if it is completely out of place, or totally nonsensical in context.The main problem is none of the characters have a realistic character arc. They go from damaged to whole again for little or no reason. It's like going from A to C with no B.