Following the harrowing and superbly made opening sequences of hand to hand combat in Iraq, we can feel the frustrations and the anger through the film, and we sympathise. But the film has a confused message ...
Comment
08/04/08
Stop-Loss (2008)
65 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 135
Fresh: 88
Rotten:47
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Consensus: Stop-Loss is sincere and complex, and features strong performances, even if it tries to cover too much ground.
Theatrical Release: Mar 28, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $10,796,776
Synopsis: Director Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY) tackles another controversial topic with STOP-LOSS, the story of a U.S. soldier forced back into battle. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has just returned to Texas after a harrowing final tour in... [More]
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Director: Kimberly Peirce
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Reviews for Stop-Loss
Stop-Loss is a tough film to watch and one that raises issues of concern that travel far beyond the war-torn regions. But whether its message is accurately targeted is for the viewer to decide
08/04/08
...once it makes its point, it tends to pile on, never making an entirely convincing drama nor an entirely convincing argument.
07/02/08
The film gets pretty heavy handed in the last third and is weighed down by an inadequate performance.
06/18/08
The reason "Stop Loss" works, unlike its 2007 predecessors, is that it cares more about its characters than it does about making a political point.
06/11/08
[Peirce's] film looks at the fallout of war in lives lost and lives ruined, pain that has a trickle-up effect on our nation's image of itself.
06/05/08
It strokes every personal ideal, whatever it is, rather than aligning itself with its characters and letting the conclusions arise out of who they are.
06/03/08
Though it is very message oriented and a little sloppy at times, I found the subject to be really interesting and the opening war scene will blow you away.
05/24/08
The war in Iraq has itself become the realization of the shameful "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (it's not just gays and lesbians that are being told to look the other way). Stop-Loss reveals just one ugly aspect of such insidiousness.
05/22/08
An honest vocalization of the inchoate discomfort so many Americans on either side of the political divide are feeling.
05/15/08
But whatever you think about the Iraq war and the people who are fighting in it, you'll be shaken up and moved by Stop-Loss.
05/01/08
Distancing Stop-Loss from other Iraq films by highlighting an American military tactic that has been little talked about, Peirce has crafted a credible but hardly outstanding effort that may disappoint those expecting another Boys Don't Cry.
04/25/08
Stop Loss takes some time out from the argument over the validity of the war to ask a question closer to home - whether the emotional battlefield America subjects its young soldiers to is actually worth it.
04/25/08
It’s the film equivalent of a weary shrug – capturing the national mood at a moment when we’d all prefer some mood enhancers.
04/25/08
Strong performances from the young cast make a compelling case that the US govt is failing its soldiers, but the film’s a little too much of a blunt instrument.
04/25/08
Kimberly Peirce's long-awaited follow-up to Boys Don't Cry is a thought-provoking, emotionally engaging drama that packs a surprisingly powerful punch.
04/24/08
Telling antiwar film as seen through the eyes of those patriotic volunteers who fought in Iraq and are now disillusioned.
04/17/08
A powerful film that doesn't pull punches, "Stop-Loss" is the first important film of 2008.
04/15/08
Peirce ... dramatizes the problems of the Iraqi War vet with more subtlety than we've seen from other filmmakers.
04/14/08
Latest News for Stop-Loss
July 07, 2008:
RT on DVD: Dark Knight, Mummy 3 Sneak Peeks
This week, we dispense with the news and cut to the chase to bring you two huge new gift sets timed perfectly for this summer's Bat-mania. What will earn you more geek cred:... More...
July 03, 2008:
A compelling postwar saga which compassionately establishes that veterans of the Iraq conflict shouldn't have to be wounded physically to be considered damaged goods. 
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March 30, 2008:
New Feature Alert! The RT Review Revue, A Weekly Video Round-up
Live from the RT offices...it's the RT Review Revue! Check out the latest word on this week's new releases in the first installment of our new editorial video column. More...
March 28, 2008:
Romantic Comedy Next For Stop Loss Director Kimberly Peirce
In the nine years since Kim Peirce's success with Boys Don't Cry, she's been pitched a number of projects but spent most of those years between researching and writing her... More...
Related Forums for Stop-Loss
My Take on STOP-LOSS
by: blue_watermelon_juice 4/12
by: blue_watermelon_juice 4/12
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