Amazon.co.uk Review
Kimberly Peirce's follow-up to
Boys Don't Cry is another issue-driven look at its era: Stop-Loss hinges on U.S. military policy allowing Iraq War soldiers to be returned to combat even after their official enlistment times are up. In this case, a band of brothers return to home turf in Brazos, Texas, only to discover that team leader Brandon King (
Ryan Phillippe) has gotten a Stop-Loss order to head back to the Middle East. After some flavourful sketches of small-town Texas life and the awkwardness of re-adjustment, the movie somewhat clumsily hits the road, where there's more wheel-spinning than deep insight. Peirce and co. seem to want to hit all the Iraq War bases, which may be one reason the film lacks a strong focus. Supporting soldiers
Channing Tatum and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt are rather more interesting than Phillippe's brooding hero, and
Abbie Cornish is stuck in a thankless torn-between-two-lovers storyline.
Stop-Loss is incredibly sincere, but the film feels like a project that began with an issue and a cause, rather than compelling characters. --
Robert Horton
Synopsis
Director Kimberly Peirce (
Boys Don't Cry) returns to the screen with this topical drama about the war in Iraq. Ryan Phillippe (
Breach) plays a solider who finally gets to go home to America, only to be called back to fight in the Middle East.
Stop-Loss co-stars Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.