Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

I was left speechless after watching Day Zero, and may have to watch it again to fully grasp the full range of lunacy it presents. The film took me through every emotion I believe I am capable of feeling, from fear and laughter to that sneaking sort of anti-nationalism felt by most Americans today: I love my country, but I hate when its government pulls such ridiculous stunts.Day Zero poses a very valid question: Is it right for a democratic nation to draft its citizens to fight a war for quote-unquote freedom? The film leaves the question open-ended, but definitely casts its vote in favor of yes. Day Zero reminds us that freedom has never been free, and the time may come again that men and women will have to fight for, in the words of Dixon, "Choice... our way of life." I will now admit my bias toward Elijah Wood. I rented this movie solely to see what my beloved Frodo has been up to. I was horrified that Wood was not only regularly sized, but also indulging in mad fantasies of prostitutes and shaven heads. My disturbedness aside, I must say that his performance was really very excellent. However, I must add that the conclusion of his character's story was less than satisfying, despite the fact that it was logical.Day Zero is an interesting study of three somewhat bland and normal people caught up in modern political mayhem. It would have been more appropriate in, say, 2003 or 4, while the Bush era was at its height, as were fears of the draft returning. History has now rendered the film largely obsolete. However, mediocre script writing rendered the film obsolete almost immediately. It is worth a watch, definitely, but I firmly believe this film will not have real value until we use it to teach the next generation about this time in our nation.Day Zero is worth watching precisely because it so accurately captures the spirit of fear and independence present in our nation today. It is not the best movie ever made, but it will do.

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS! Despite anything you may have read in any review..watch this film for yourself. It's worth it.First off it's beautifully filmed. You would never guess it had such low budget. Well thought out shots and camera angles. Excellent use of close ups of everyone. Their faces tell the story.It's not entirely about war but about unprepared young men being blind-sided by being drafted unexpectedly into a war they are unsure of. Even Jon Bernthal's seemingly gung ho character isn't as sure of what he wants as he first appears. He has too much heart and love for other people. He's a genuinely good guy. What will fighting in a real war and seeing it's horrifying atrocities do to his kind soul? He might fight and survive but he won't come back the same man. He may have a load of guilt that he will never be able to shake. Ideals shattered. Nobility in shreds. His is the most clearly exposed character and has the most screen time. He's very good. A new DiNero.Chris Kline also was good and understated but you can see everything he feels and how torn he his. To leave his cancer survivor wife that he loves dearly. To abandon his career as a successful lawyer. To fight in a war he does not believe is right. Or submit to a draft he believes deprives people of their civil rights and due process of law. A solid quiet and painful portrayal.Then of course Aaron..Elijah. Poor sad outcast Aaron. A person who cannot even be his own friend. A person self-isolated and despite some interesting life-experiences (the post grad trip to Malaysia) sadly naive. He is locked within his own self-destructive psyche. If he doesn't love and respect himself how can anyone else? Still he has strong bonds with Bernthal and Kline. They get him. They might tease him but they understand him and they are his friends and the only ones who care about him. Elijah is very good. He shows Aaron's pathetic shock at having his fragile life invaded by that draft notice. He is completely unprepared for any kind of combat. Why he never considers getting a psych discharge is surprising. He would have easily gotten one. I knew a guy almost just like him back during Vietnam who was so emotionally wrecked that although he braved two weeks of boot camp he disintegrated so badly the army gladly sent him right home. The army would have done the same for Aaron, I'm sure! But the poor thing never sees this. Making us wonder if he truly sees himself clearly at all. He does have talent as a writer. Something perfectly suited for his loner psychological make-up. He was NOT a fraud as he thought. He took a folk tale and enlarged on it for his book. Last time I looked that wasn't a crime. Authors take such things as inspiration all the time. It was not fraud. Aaron never sees his strengths. He just loathes himself and then when it seems Dixon is disgusted with him after that mis-adventure with the pimp, he really starts to come apart.The head-shaving is a brilliant dissolving into psychosis scene. His hair really was buzzed off and he still stayed 100% in character. That is enormous credit to his professionalism.When he calls his sister and she just blows him off it is the final break for him. He can't see that his friends care. That they would help him if he would let them. He is lost within his own madness. He cannot see beyond it. His final decision is so sad because he feels he is vindicating himself and freeing himself. That last smile of his, his only real smile in the movie, is chilling. And for anyone who has ever been there and felt anything like that it resonates deeply.I love how he found this character and made him different from anyone else he has played. His Depp-titude is becoming more and more apparent. The little nervous tick of his cheek. The not-quite smiles. His ineptness around women. ( Best line..."Maybe later." ) His descent into madness. Elijah has talent in spades.The supporting cast is all very good too. I love the young blonde girl,Sofia Vassilieva, who loves Dixon. She just breaks my heart. An actress to watch, I'm sure we'll see lots more of her. His older girlfriend,Elisabeth Moss, is good, too. Ginnifer Goodwin is pretty good but perhaps not quite the best.All this comes down to why this wonderful, intelligent film got the cold shoulder. Well of course it's never been PC to even appear anti-war. But the thing is that's not really what this movie is about. It's about how war effects different types of people and how they deal with it. It doesn't tell you what to do it just makes you think what you MIGHT do in the same situation.It's a good film that deserves a wide audience. I hope very much it picks up on DVD and TV the interest it should have.

The idea of the movie is not bad: three guys get drafted and we get to have part of their feelings, emotions and fears for the last 30 days before day zero, the day they have to sign in for the army.Those three guys are very different characters, they have nothing in common so we wonder how can they actually be friends.Apart from that, the film is very realistic.It gets also political on the war in Iraq and it shows both conflict parties: those for the war and those against it.It shows us who are the people supporting the war: lower class,propaganda brainwashed, uneducated, ordinary people from the street like cab driver Dixon, who thinks that fighting in Iraq is defending the freedom in America. His friend, lawyer Rifkin sees no point in the war and tries to use his daddy's connections to get "undrafted".The third guy is writer Feller (Wood) who doesn't really have an opinion because his mind is too occupied with the fear of dying in the war.He is weak, mentally and physically. The film is good, good acting, good script.I don't regret seeing it and I'm sure most people wont.It's not a must see, but if you come across it you should give it a chance.Seven stars for being good but not special.

I find myself out of alignment with previous commenters on this one. Let's see: "A perfect study of those who share this fate given by wonderful cast and crew" Perfect? No flaws? Come on."A powerful film about friendship and relations" I wish it had been. The script failed to draw us in and make us care about the characters."A Powerful and Thought-Provoking Character Study" No it wasn't. It could have been. Each character was a cliché. And worse, instead of letting the viewer make their minds up, the script is busy telling us, in case we missed it.The above comments were taken from people who gave this movie 10 out of 10. That's a PERFECT score. A flawless movie. Had they rated it an 8 or 9, then you could expect there to be a difference in taste, in expectation.The acting isn't bad, as much as the script allows it, and the story has a decent premise, but the story relies to much on the audience being American, and the feelings that come with drafts, wars, Duty to country.In the end, this movie attempt to set a mood results in it being too slow and too shallow. It is presented by formula driven characters. A character study it is not. It leaves huge holes in the characters at the same time as it is spoon feeding us the obvious.5 out of 10 because the acting is good, the cinematography is good, but it gets dragged down by the script.