Generation Kill
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Movie Reviews of Generation Kill
Movie Review: Abso-friggin-amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
I honestly bought this because I love Alexander Skarsgard in True Blood. I am not normally attracted to stories that revolve around war as the subject matter. I could not have been more surprised by my reaction to this series. I have watched it three times and know I will watch again many, many more times. I have so much respect and awe for the men and women that put themselves on the line in the military. This series makes me feel honored to have just a glimpse into what that looks and feels like. It only increases my admiration of their courage and selflessness. I love how Evan Wright made the story so realistic and relatable. I found myself caring for these men and wanting to know more. I can't turn my mind off for thinking about them and what they, and countless other military personal, went through and continue to experience. For me, this series was very emotional, funny, gritty, thought provoking, and human. One of the best things I have ever watched in my entire life. Thank you Alexander Skarsgard for making me interested enough to take a leap of faith and order the DVD. I though the entire cast did a wonderful job, but Alexander as Colbert was just exquisite. He said more with his eyes than many actors do with their entire body. He was a pleasure to watch, especially in his interactions with Stark Sands and James Ranscone. All three actors certainly did their real life counterparts proud.Movie Review: Hurry up and wait
Summary: 5 Stars
Generation Kill is more realistic than your average war film because it's more boring. Don't get me wrong--I was glued to the set for every minute of every episode. The series features strong characters, great dialogue, and no little action, and those traits make it watchable. And what the series gets absolutely right is the sheer boredom that military service sometimes entails. "Hurry up and wait," as they said during World War II or, as one of my college professors put it, "100 hours of boredom and one of sheer terror."
Generation Kill is adapted from the book of the same name by Evan Wright, but it's clear that the writers and producers have also incorporated material from One Bullet Away, the memoir by Nathaniel Fick, whom viewers will recognize as a platoon commander in this series. (Both books, by the way, are excellent reading--Fick's is one of the best I've ever read.) The series follows a platoon of Marine recon from Kuwait through the initial invasion of Iraq. Along the way, firefights break out with hostile jihadists, the company is ambushed, sent on seemingly pointless missions, and eventually arrives in Baghdad itself. And like I said--I was hooked from the very beginning.
If you're looking for a more realistic view of the war fought by modern grunts, or even just several hours of good entertainment, Generation Kill is the ticket.
Recommended.
Movie Review: A behind the scenes look at America's Heroes.
Summary: 5 Stars
The book caught my eye when I first saw it. I read it almost overnight. If you haven't read the book, I highly advise doing so before you watch the series. I served in the army infantry and there's nothing that truly captures the spirit and grit of the American soldier or marine of today as this series does. Ask any infantryman from the army or the marines and they will be the first to tell you that the infantry is nothing like the rest of the military. It's a hard, dirty, back-breaking, infuriating, and insane way of life, but it's an experience you would never trade for anything else in the world.
I think this series more than anything else captures all of the elements of life as an infantryman. Everything from the absurd conversations you will have dozens of times over, to the constant wise-cracking you will endure and dish out w/ your platoon, the art of the use of profanity, to the insanity of actual combat. And more than anything else, it captures the spirit of what the infantry is all about. I was especially pleased by the use of many military acronyms I had not heard in quite awhile, so it was abundantly clear that the filmmakers had done their homework.
If you're curious about the modern military or want to have a glimpse of life as an infantryman, or if nothing else, simply want to be entertained, I highly recommend this series.
Movie Review: Excellent Depiction
Summary: 5 Stars
Generation Kill, much like The Wire, is an ensemble cast depicting a slice of time and events. Many have tried to politicize the story, framing it in terms of being too left wing, though the accurate depictions GI's dehumanizing the Other, as "Haji" would bely any such criteria for a bastion of a politically correct left. The story illustrates the initial 21 days of the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. It does not address the Iraqi experience with any nuance whatsoever, and that is not its scope. It shows the experience of a Recon Marine unit as seen through civilian eyes of an embedded reporter. It conveys the silliness of human error and capacity for greatness that embody all people, service men and women not withstanding. The story is also entertaining, with many of the characters idiosyncrasy being cast within a unit model, so one views all of these individuals relatively the same, until as time goes on you witness the individual personality of each come out by illustrating each one's boredom, response to atrocity and absurdity, and the conflict within ranks. Finally, it depicts the complexity of groupthink that often occurs within the upper echelon of military hierarchy, while portraying the 'grunts' as intelligent in their perceptions of what transpired and their frustrations with a finite incapacity to respond meaningfully.Movie Review: Watch this series
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an active duty Soldier and have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you want to see the truth and "experience" the reality we all face, watch this series. There is none of the normal Hollywood left wing/right wing garbage anywhere in this series. It has no agenda except to show America the raw truth. The attention to detail in this series is unmatched. Down to having grid coordinates written on the inside of the Humvee windshields on the Vehicle Commander's (front passenger) side. Which is something we all do. This is a 7 part series and it took me over two weeks to finish it. There were several times I had to just stop watching. That's not insulting it, that just shows how real it is. It shows the boredom, humor, horror and absolute heartbreak of combat. It pulls no punches. There is no shortage of regrettable civilian casualties, which sadly, is so often the case when facing an enemy with no uniform. It goes to great lengths to show the all too common incompetence of senior leaders who see combat tours and body bags as a means to quick promotions, and will take completely uncalculated risks to achieve that next rank, always at their men's expense. America, I can't say enough about this series. It's something everyone should see.
Michael A. Sampsell
SFC, USA
Cavalryman