Stop-Loss chronicles a soldier's strife

It is about time that someone depicted the harshness and unfair politics that are associated with the Iraq war. Instead of simply detailing the brutality of war scenes, Stop-Loss took a new approach. It parallels the variety of emotions felt after war, with the anger of finding out you have been sent back. It is about time that someone depicted the harshness and unfair politics that are associated with the Iraq war.

Instead of simply detailing the brutality of war scenes, Stop-Loss took a new approach. It parallels the variety of emotions felt after war, with the anger of finding out you have been sent back.

Military movies have long strived to depict the reality of the hardships and turmoil that soldiers experience before and after war, however, none have depicted the Iraq war successfully. Stop-Loss is a movie in which you actually get an understanding of what soldiers have to experience after they have returned home from what most say is the scariest time of their lives. In addition to the dashing good looks of the main characters and the intertwined love story of the plot, Stop-Loss has a depth that most directors have yet to accomplish.

Stop-Loss tells the story of two longtime friends from Texas, Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), and Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum), who have just returned home from an almost-fatal tour in Iraq. The two are welcomed as hometown heroes and believe they will never have to serve in Iraq again. Little did they know, the military was about to turn their world upside down. When Sgt. King is stop-lossed (sent back to duty) he decides to travel to Washington, D.C., to fight the ruling.

As King fights for his freedom, his fellow soldiers struggle to deal with the post-traumatic stress of fighting in the Iraq war. The question is: will he and his fellow war heroes be forced back to a place where death lurks around every corner?

If war scenes are your favorite movie pastime then Stop-Loss is not for you. The movie is based primarily on the aftermath of serving in the army and adjusting back to normal life. However, it also utilizes the shaky camera effects while in combat, which can make for a frustrating viewing experience.
Phillippe and Tatum are obviously blessed with amazing looks, but prove they have weight in the acting world in this one. They both play the Texan sweethearts/heroes that you cannot easily resist.

What most agree on is the most important motif of the movie: exposing the unfairness of being forbidden to get out of service in this modern day draft. I previously had no knowledge that this happens to thousands of soldiers every year. The film did what it was supposed to: make you think. Even though the Army said that only about 7,000 of the active 160,000 returning troops would be stop-lossed ,there are many skeptics regarding the issue .
 Director, Kimberly Peirce, best known for Boy’s Don’t Cry, used her own life experience of dealing with her own brother’s deployment to Iraq.The anecdotes from actual soldiers dealing with the same issues help the audience to relate.

However, I was not impressed with the ending. I don’t want to give it away, but I can say that it ends abruptly. In addition to that, there are really is only about five minutes of actual war scenes. Even though I am not one for gruesome fighting, it would have added more to the film to see exactly why these soldiers do not want to go back.

 After seeing the movie, I really did sympathize for those who were forced back into duty after their contract expires. Although not an epic, Stop-Loss deals with a real-life issue that young people across America are interested in.