Don't listen to the negative reviews

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

If only we still lived in the 1970's, when filmmakers were still unhinged artists and creative in a politically incorrect kind of way, the themes and substance featuring in "Boot Camp" could have made it an outrageously rough and twisted piece of grindhouse/drive-in exploitation! Supposedly "incontrollable" rich and spoiled US teenagers are unwillingly sent to a social rehabilitation camp by their "desperate" parents. "We have parental consent to take you with us" is the last thing they hear before they wake up somewhere on the Fiji Islands and in the devoted care of self-acclaimed doctor/guru Arthur Hail and his oddball 3-step ASAP program. Sophie and her boyfriend Ben – who deliberately ended up on the island to rescue her – attempt to escape to a nearby holiday resort, but when this fails the only remaining solution is to cause a revolution amongst the residents. "Boot Camp" features all the delicious ingredients to be a genuine piece of 70's exploitation trash: a tropical island location, naughty boys and wayward girls, a false but power-mad authority figure, perverted and corrupted guards, punishment pits and lots of cat fights in the mud! Unfortunately, however, we live in the post-2000 years and true exploitation as we knew it is long dead and buried… Admittedly "Boot Camp" isn't a horrible film, but fact of the matter remains that director Christian Duguay and his crew didn't have the guts to include any actual violence, sleaze or shocking content. Instead of a lurid action/thriller with drama aspects, it became a mostly dull drama with a couple of poor attempts to insert action. The film allegedly criticizes the real-life rehabilitation camps and their working methods, but who cares? I'm not a psychopath or a pervert, but a story like this simply just requires raw violence, rape and deranged stuff. Mila Kunis tries very hard to look tough, but fails embarrassingly. Peter Stormare has all the potential to be a terrific madman, but he's blocked by the script, and Tygh Runyan (what's in a name) nearly isn't memorable or hardcore enough as the evil sidekick.

The 1970s saw the rise of so-called "tough love" camps. Places where well to do people would send their spoiled kids to learn how to behave. The camps were often in remote locations around the world and completely unregulated. Violence, torture, and even death were used as methods of intimidation and thousand of kids were scared for life. Boot Camp is based on one of these places, but is told in the current era. Sophie Bauer (Mila Kunis) is sent to this camp in Fiji, because she's spoiled and doesn't get along with her step father. She could be there for up to a year, but that doesn't sit well with her boyfriend Ben (Gregory Smith). Ben gets sent to the camp to save Sophie, but when he gets there, he has no idea just how bad it really is. I really enjoyed this film, but they didn't spend enough time on the characters and as a result, the audience really doesn't have much empathy for the kids. What we see, really isn't bad enough to warrant them being sent away to such a place. Mila Kunis is terrific, finally playing something besides a whiny love starved introvert. She's paired with Gregory Smith, who I have enjoyed watching since he was a kid. As always, he gives a terrifically intense performance, that really makes this film as good as it was. Finally, the cast is rounded out by Peter Stormare who has been tight cast as a criminal/mafia type. Honestly, it was a little strange to see Stormare playing a doctor into meditation and rehabilitation. Overall, Boot Camp is a somewhat strange movie, but it has a terrific pair leading the way. The events are shocking, but in and of itself wouldn't make for a great film, that's where Kunis and Smith come in. The combination of the unique story, shocking events, and terrific cast lead to a film that was surprisingly enjoyable.

A group of troubled teenagers who include the brash and sarcastic Sophie (an excellent and appealing performance by Mila Kunis) are abducted and sent to the harsh Camp Serenity rehab program on Figi. While there the teens are subjected to solitary confinement, physical violence, and psychological torture by the camp ruthless administrators led by the strict, arrogant, and domineering Dr. Norman Hail (a commanding and convincing portrayal by Peter Stormare) in an attempt to break and subsequently "fix" them. Director Christian Duguay, working from an original and absorbing script by John Cox and Agatha Dominik, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, maintains a hard-hitting gritty tone throughout, and wisely avoids lurid sensationalism despite the potentially exploitative subject matter. The potent, disturbing, and provocative central theme about the "tough love" treatment, the abuse of power, and the dangers of playing god not only makes a spot-on significant point that torture and brutality quite simply aren't an effective and acceptable means to an end for rehabilitation, but also gives this picture an extra strong dramatic and emotional punch. The fine acting from the bang-up cast rates as another substantial asset, with especially praiseworthy work from Gregory Smith as Sophie's concerned boyfriend Ben, Regine Nehy as the fragile Trina, Alejandro Rae as belligerent cokehead Jack, Christopher Jacot as the paranoid Danny, Tygh Runyan as sleazy and sadistic security chief Logan, and Colleen Rennison as the spiteful Ellen. Duguay's sharp cinematography provides an appropriately gloomy look. Normand Corbeil's spare moody score does the trick in a subtle and unobtrusive way. Based on true events, this movie possesses a certain harrowing plausibility to it that packs quite a forceful wallop to the gut. Powerful stuff.

Not really sure why it was categorized as a suspense/thriller... there was nothing suspenseful or thrilling about it at all. The beginning was a bit slow, and to be honest, it didn't really pick up until the last thirty minutes or so. I think the only reason I kept watching was because I knew it was based on actual events, and that compelled me to continue. It was very 'Island of Dr. Moreau'-esque. I didn't really make that connection until about two-thirds through the movie, but once I did, there was no denying the parallels. It's almost as if it was a cross between 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' and 'Hotel Rwanda,' as disturbing as that sounds. It had the same general plot line as IoDM but also with the same sense of candidness that was in HR. Like I said... disturbing... especially when you consider that it's based on real events.