The Mark of Cain (2008)

Simply A Masterpiece

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

British film about soldiers in the early days of the current Iraq war who get in over their heads when the death of their captain prompts abuse of several detainees. Well made, good looking film that shoots itself in the foot by completely jumbling the time frame of the story. We get scenes that start and then move to another scene before getting too far in, to be replaced by another scene and then another and then back to the first and so on. All of the flash forwards and backs completely kill any real suspense about what happens since the bits we are given more or less reveal what is going to happen. It takes the edge off everything and makes it considerably less then its parts. How can we feel the shock of what happens when you have a good idea at the start. This is just an okay Iraq war film when it should have been one of the better one.

As a 2 tour Iraq vet, I was taken to this movie as a birthday outing and didn't realize the "plot" was supposed to be an Iraqi war commentary.It's difficult to know where to start unwinding this tangled yarn of agenda, malfeasance, and outright lies, but the theater didn't keep our money that evening. We WALKED OUT after about 1/2 hour of watching this drivel, and demanded our money back. (Which they most-assuredly were willing to return to us) If you think lying to the American people is bad, this movie was obviously made for FOREIGN CONSUMPTION, so that the miserable wretches who conspired to make and distribute this pile of of crap, could make money SELLING OUT America AND KILLING American BOYS.And if you don't think this kind of garbage winds up killing Americans, you really ought to read some history and (gasp) maybe even serve your country in patriotism.

Although Mark of Cain isn't a bad movie, and most of the acting is in fact pretty good, it seems to be lacking a clear purpose. For a movie that aims to make a political statement, it seems to pull its punches at the most crucial moments. As a movie that wants to tell a story about a modern war, although realistic and often gritty, it is not nearly as powerful as Platoon or as intricate as Jarhead. In fact, the power of the story seems to peter out after the first two-thirds of the movie. For example, the technique of starting with a crucial scene, and then flashing back to this scene as the story unfolds, becomes less powerful. Eventually, the viewer pretty well knows what to expect. Watch Mark of Cain, expect some poignant scenes, but don't expect any new insights in that fiasco known as Iraq and don't expect to see war's truly horrific face.

this is an important war movie. the best war movie i've seen since 'three kings' not much shooting or setpiece explosive action mind you. movie critics are uneasy at its stark portrayal of dysfunctional army ways and its psychopathic sergeant whilst we are still in the midst of that same war.it seems disloyal somehow. to our boys in the field to lay bare the prosaic anatomy of torture so powerfully. but i think this is a film all true soldiers will love.they say the first casualty of war is truth and they're not far wrong. because war is horrendous.it's just a damn shame that after all the classic Vietnam war movies that there will be another crop of classic iraq war movies. (eg gunner palace)