Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Lack of good storyline.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It's May 2007. The Men of Battle Company 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team are deployed to the Korengal valley in Afghanistan for the next 15 months. It's one of the most dangerous assignment where they face fire every day from the Taliban. Filmmakers Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger follow them in their tour. Early on, Pvt Juan 'Doc' Restrepo is killed. They build a new outpost and name it OP Restrepo. The locals live in small hillside communities. Their loyalties are questionable. There is a dispute when the troops kill and eat a cow belonging to a villager which got entangled in the outpost's wire. There is nothing quite as tense as reality. There is nothing quite as emotionally powerful as men crying over their fallen comrade in the middle of a firefight.

I've seen a TON of war documentaries recently, I binged like a fiend on them for a week straight. This was one of the best, no doubt. The whole brotherhood theme that's always in flicks like this is so played out, but somehow these cats made it feel fresh. The firefights in this film were stupid intense, and you could feel the danger the filmmakers were in constantly. The cameraman and co-director Tim Hetherington was killed not long after this film came out in a bomb explosion. Heavy sh*t. Check out the flick about his life "Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington". This movie is intense.

Before I begin this review, I would like to let all combat veteran readers know that I will be discussing scenes from a film I recently had the honor of screening. It is about combat in Afghanistan. It's entitled: Restrepo.It is powerful. It is raw. It is real.General Robert E. Lee once said that "to be a good soldier you must love the Army. But to be a good officer, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love. That is...a very hard thing to do. No other profession requires it. That is one reason why there are so very few good officers. Although, there are many good men." In the 2010 Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize Winning film, "Restrepo" we are given both of these vehicles, both good men and good officers, that deliver an emotionally packed combat story that will stay with me for a long time.3 elements still remain with me after seeing this film: command, loss, and love. Here's what I mean.CommandTaking charge or taking command is all about standing alone and being totally responsible. From the opening scenes of this film, Captain (CPT) Dan Kearney, company commander of Battle Company, 2d Battalion, 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment lets you know that it is "his area of operations" and he is here to "make a difference." He says this, all the while knowing, that he will have to fight with constraining "rules of engagement"and always attempt to minimize collateral damage while fighting an enemy that does not wear a uniform, mixes in with innocent civilians, and attacks from the safety of mosques and other protected sites. Still knowing all this, every day, CPT Kearny accepts the weight of his command and continues to do his job. I wonder how many corporate CEOs, with all their privilege and perks, could hold up to the scrutiny of this type of leadership challenge? The average U.S. CEO is 56 years of age and is compensated in the millions of dollars. CPT Kearney was less than 30 when this film was shot. He laughed with his men, he fought along side them, and even had to direct them to grieve when they lost a buddy. When that was accepted, he reminded them that they still had a job to do. Fate smiled on me during this special screening, because Captain Kearney (now a Major) was present at the theater and took questions after the credits finished rolling. He was even more impressive in real life. Again, here is a professional that gives all the credit to his soldiers, yet accepts responsibility for things that don't always go his way. After the Q&A ended, I had to tell him how much I valued his service. When I got my chance, I shook his hand, thanked him for setting such a great example, and that my favorite part of the film was the beginning, where he accepted responsibility for what he had been charged with. He didn't miss a beat. His reply was humbly, "thank you sir. You'll never know how much that means to us." With such a selfless response from a young man that had endured so much, I realized that it had been a while since I had stood in the presence of a real leader; better yet a Commander.You can read the remainder on my website at Warrior Life Coach dot com.

I watched Restrepo last night. Its a documentary about some army platoon in Afghanistan. First they meet with the local populace, and the locals complain that civilians have been killed, and the commander is like, "Well, its time to move on from that. Get over it. We are starting over with a clean slate now." Then they steal one of the villager's cattle and eat it, and when the villagers complain about it being illegal, the commander accuses them of being Jihadi.Then they arrest some people, and the villagers complain about illegal detention, and the commander says, "I Don't F***ING CARE" Then the villagers finally act up, so the army calls in airstrikes and kill ten civilians including some children. Then one of the Americans get killed, and they cry like babies until they get bolstered up by a tough-talk session in which they promise to make the enemy pay. After that, they indiscriminately shoot everything that moves. At one point, they compare it to a video game or a hunting resort. Finally, they say "F*** this place" and go home. Very inspiring stuff, god bless America.Its basically about a bunch of uneducated moron dude-bros who are pretending that its war, when really they are just sitting on a hilltop harassing villagers.