Stop-Loss is one of those films that starts out really strong and then gets lost along the way. After starting out showing the hell that a combat patrol goes through on a daily basis in Iraq; the check points, the uncertainty of who's going to do what, the never ending uneasyness, the constant threat of injury or death, the never ending carnage and destruction all around. We meet a small patrol of guys who are at the end of their tours, who are led into an ambush on their last mission before returning to their small town Texas home. Its when they get home is where the film begins to break down. Pierce loses sight of what she was trying to say by over selling the hell and horrors of war and through some poor casting choices. Instead of focusing on just one or two of the myriald of problems the returning soldiers face she tried to take them all on. Which ultimately causes us the audience to no longer care about any of them. Also the casting of Channing Tatum in a serious role really hurt the film as his range as an actor is really very, very limited which further dimished the film.

Grade C

Joseph Gordon Levitt again proves how good he is. The movie just falls apart with things that make no sense, and to much of it is very predictable.

Its meh

I was actually impressed. It may have more to do with low expectations but if anything, the intentions were in the right place and it brings to light aspects of war that should be focused more in the media rather than the usual romanticized versions we get.

I was actually pretty disappointed by this one. It's weird, because most of the elements were really on point - but something about it just felt off to me. It certainly isn't the fault of the actors involved, for most of them are absolutely fantastic. Ryan Phillippe delivers a powerful performance, and Channing Tatum shows a lot of dramatic range as well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to impress and Abbie Cornish does well despite having an utterly pointless role for the most part. I guess the problem here is really the direction, which is a shame because I loved Boys Don't Cry. The visual style that director Kimberley Pierce uses throughout just doesn't work - it's choppy and annoying, and I really disliked the vignettes/montages that were randomly inserted throughout, since I just wanted to get back to the main storyline. It also runs a bit long, but the final 45 minutes of the film are easily its best. This is definitely worth seeing and one I'll probably raise my grade for eventually, but I was expecting a bit more from it given how phenomenal it looked. B

I would have preferred an unresolved ending, by the time we get to the end we know what's coming, I was just like, get there already so I can go home.

I actually agree with you there. I think having an unresolved ending would have made the film wayyy more interesting and would have incited more discussion.

Is this a fictional story by the way? I have no idea.

STOP-LOSS - 6/10 (C+)

I wanted to shut it off after the first 45 minutes or so. I couldn't stand the characters. They were a buch of annoying hicks. Thankfully it did get better though and ended up being ok, but is still really flawed and not as great as it looked like it might be.