To me, this movie is perfection.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Awesome Movie

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I am a Vietnam combat veteran who has had PTSD (never did go see a doc or shrink and I'm already 67 so missed out on that)and had some quite violent confrontations for the first 8 years after I got out. The difference between my situation and this contrived load of BS is that in my case I refused to "knuckle under" to thugs that I would see either beating on a loved one, ripping someone off of their personal items when I was close enough to do something about it or threatening others with violence. I'm not proud to say I never lost a fight in my life. However, all that said, the premise of this movie is quite flawed. Even if it is just a single representation of a return U.S. Military vet going on a violent streak and then taking his own life, in a sense it is a metaphor (or at least the writers of it wanted it to be) for the supposed generalized malaise of returning vets. The actual truth is that regardless of our (meaning U.S. combat veterans who were discharged honorably) memories of war and subsequent reintegration back into "normal American society" the vast majority of vets cope with things (as I did) and remain honorable men. No returning vets I have ever met (although I know there are statistically a few who do it) have actually committed suicide. I would boycott this movie if you can as it does not in any way represent the reality of most returned combat veterans and is a leftist Hollywood way of saying "our returning combat troops are generally flawed and out of control (which can be disproven). I only fought to protect people when I got out and never started any fight. I have no record as in all cases I was found to be in the right. StocktonRob

Looked interesting at the first sight and acting was good too. You keep waiting what's gonna happen and so, but that doesn't seem to be the case after more than half of the movie. Terrible ending. I mean, why would he get the tapes with criminals risking his brother, when what we get is his revenge against the same people that developed as characters in the first half of the movie? His ex-employee might have been an asshole but to kill him? Marlon looked like a nice guy despite selling drugs and Ivana had every right to avoid him, no girl would like to date such of a strange guy, especially not after filming her making sex and showing it during the movie at the cinema. It's all stupid, really.I agree that this might be a veteran's problem and this movie does bring this into the sight. But that's the only reason this movie gets a 3 from me, because it was absolutely crap otherwise. I mean the plot and so, acting was decent I'd say but it doesn't change the whole picture by much.

Approximately 21 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans commit suicide per day. Not really sure if anyone knows that there are more soldiers killed each day in America once they've returned home safe than were ever killed in Iraq/Afghanistan during the years of war. I started following these guys when I saw them giving an interview on Bloomberg raising awareness on PTSD, and was anxious to see the full film when it released a few days ago. I don't really write reviews, but felt compelled to for this one, because it needs to be seen, needs to be talked about, and something needs to be done about this issue, BOTTOMLINE. This film is a work of fiction, but is oh so true at its core. Powerful film from some young up and comers who should be be given a chance to do something bigger.

I was inspired to write this review not just because this movie was particularly fantastic but because of the very powerful and emotional review by my brother veteran from Vietnam. I'm also a Veteran, but I was in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't know what my brother went through in Vietnam, but I know what I experienced in the desert. And it brought me to some dark places. I was lucky, I don't suffer from severe PTSD and I made it home with all of my body intact. But many of my friends did not. Some are great, but some have been trapped in a very dark place. I expected this movie to trivialize that experience, or to use it as a tool laden with clichés. I expected another movie about a crazy vet who thinks he's the love child of Rambo and Charles Bronson. But it's not that at all. Instead, it's a brilliantly told and beautifully shot neo-noir film that shows a nuanced slide further into darkness and madness. This isn't a story about a crazy vet gone mad, it's a story about a sick man, who happens to be a vet and loses himself to the darkness. Was it hard for me to watch it at times? Absolutely. Especially when I could see slivers of people I know, friends, brothers and sisters who served with me who have struggled with the darkness. But unlike my brother from Vietnam, I did like it. No, I loved it. This film could have been trite and awful and I could see someone who only watched the trailer or read the description as assuming that's what it is. But the film itself is awesome. And while it may be hard at times for some, that's true about a lot of great stories, especially in film form.But the acting by Russ Russo as Jacob is superb. Nuanced, authentic, raw and engaging. Natasha Alam was also fantastic and took what could have been a cheap, trashy role and played it with remarkable reality. I especially loved Doug E. Doug as Marlon. His character provides a levity and human touch that's both necessary and superbly done. Why isn't he in more roles like this? Visually, the film is stunning. Not a single scene misses and the visual component alone makes the film worth watching. I can't believe that this is Ryan Kennedy's first film as a Director. And I actually found the pacing to be almost perfect. The only exception might be a few scenes with the Detective. But even then, it's subtle and still works. All in all, this movie is superb. I can't recommend it enough and I'm so happy I stumbled upon it on Amazon. I plan on watching it again with my wife tonight. And I'm looking forward to seeing what this director does next! Do yourself a favor and watch this film. I can't believe that it's current score is as low as it is.