Not expecting much here, but I would like to know if you or people who you know who are veterans of the Iraq war have seen the recently crowned Oscar-winner, The Hurt Locker.
I'm skeptical, so I would like to know how fair and accurate this movie is.
Mar 8 2010, 8:02 am
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Shadow813
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I'm almost certain they despise this film. I was reading an article on Yahoo just the other day about it. Yea, there pretty upset with it, I would grab you a link to the article, but I'm in class taking my exam and if I get caught doing this...Okay later.
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I don't know if you'll get any comments from real vets, but I'll say that I really enjoyed the movie. It was far better for me than last year's joke of a "best picture." The main thing I took from it was how well they built the tension in various scenes, as well as how well they portrayed the danger that these men and women bravely face each day. IMHO, anyone who is in a position to send people into this type of situation should see a movie like this and try to fully understand the permanent impact it will have on these people's lives. It seems like our leaders far too easily send out troops on a whim without fully considering the human consequences.
I've read about some of the recent controversy and it seems like a lot of it is pretty nitpicky stuff. Things like not having the right uniforms for certain characters - I can understand how that can pull a real vet out of the moment in watching the movie, but it's totally inconsequential to the rest of us. The other nitpicks I've seen have boiled down to the screenwriter and director doing things with the plot for dramatic effect that might be unrealistic in real life. I can think of three instances of this, and while as a non-vet I did think in the back of my mind they were a little far-fetched, I recognized what they were and just enjoyed the ride. Ultimately all movies and TV shows do this. I don't know a doctor who thinks any of the medical dramas are watchable for similar reasons, so I can understand why many vets hated the departures from reality as they expect it. I don't know if The Hurt Locker really deserved best picture, but I'm glad I saw it, and I'm glad I saw it before the awards were handed out. The hype surrounding Slumdog Millionaire last year probably ruined it for me. It was probably a decent movie, but nowhere near deserving of all the hype it got, so I felt like it was a waste of 2 good hours. Hopefully you won't experience the same now with Hurt Locker. ;) | |
Mike H wrote:
I don't know if you'll get any comments from real vets, but I'll say that I really enjoyed the movie. It was far better for me than last year's joke of a "best picture." The main thing I took from it was how well they built the tension in various scenes, as well as how well they portrayed the danger that these men and women bravely face each day. IMHO, anyone who is in a position to send people into this type of situation should see a movie like this and try to fully understand the permanent impact it will have on these people's lives. It seems like our leaders far too easily send out troops on a whim without fully considering the human consequences. Politicians don't care about anybody, but themselves and their public image. Look at the scandal with the senator that had a child with another women and had his friend take the fall. Claiming his wife was going to die soon and didn't want her to die in shame. The politicians that actually do have feeling for people are assassinated. Or constantly flamed, and made to look like shit. Barrack Obama though many don't like him had a good plan for health care reform. Then people wanted to start flaming it and spreading lies about it, because it would lighten their pockets. Health care reform is something a lot of people need. For instance myself, I have no job and rely on my wife. I could use an affordable insurance company, especially one that doesn't discriminate against preexisting conditions. When I saw this, [health care reform summarized in four minutes] I was excited as hell. Of course something like this will never exist because this would force change in insurance companies and politicians feed their pockets from insurance companies. Most politicians will never care about the people. They have money and live the good life, they use us for votes by lifting our spirits about what they will do. Then once they get the votes they want it's fuck the people. They flame each other so much on TV and in debates it's ridiculous. | |
Here is a vets review of the movie, I read it and he had quite a few problems with it.
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2975 He said it was a good movie, but a very poor potrayal of what it is like. He was actually pretty causal about what he knew was done wrong. Some other vets are getting pretty pissed. Nothing we can do though, I just think it's another war movie. | |
I've watched it 4 times O.O
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My marine buddy, and brother in the military say it's pretty laughably inaccurate. Granted, that doesn't stop it from being entertaining.
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Hmm, does having recently dated a Vet count?(non combat, mind you)
If so, anyone of them that saw "dear John" is still stuck at the abortion that movie was to the service. I haven't seen "the hurt Locker" yet, so I can't really weigh in, aside from saying Do NOT waste your money on Dear John. And like Maggeh says, it's entertainment, not necessarily a documentary. | |
It's a movie who cares if it accurately displays uniforms for ranks, and such and such. For the average movie goer would they really recognize the difference or care? I was in military school when I was a kid. I know some of the stuff, like when they are yelling out words while marching, ranks, and terms. If they aren't used correctly in a movie though I could care less. It's called the entertainment industry for a reason.
Seriously, you can call out any movie on how it isn't accurate. They are movies, not real shit so who cares, what some war vets have to say about a war movie. If you want to see a more accurately detail events watch the History Channel, Discovery, or A&E. That or visit a veteran's home and listen to their stories. My grandpa used to go on and on when I was little about war stories from Vietnam. He got hit by a frag mine that a sweeper didn't detect, got a purple heart and got to come home. He still has plenty of stories though. It would take me a lifetime to hear them all. | |
Ulterior Motives wrote:
Seriously, you can call out any movie on how it isn't accurate. They are movies, not real shit so who cares, what some war vets have to say about a war movie. If you want to see a more accurately detail events watch the History Channel, Discovery, or A&E. *sigh* You miss the key issue with this. This movie, whether it's made solely for entertainment or to be factually accurate, is a representation of their service to their country. Many people don't actually discern the difference between a movie and a documentary. So, if the soldiers in question are shown throwing puppies off of cliffs*, people are going to assume that many, if not most soldiers do that to pass time. You and I may be able to tell that it's probably just an isolated incident, but most of America has entertainment and reality very, VERY muddled. So if there's anything egregious that misrepresents the troops in the movie, it does matter. If the director wanted to make a movie SOLELY for entertainment, he can make up his own damned war. Having all of that said, I doubt there's anything too too offensive in the movie, it's probably just turning your average grunt into the master chief or Rambo, if anything. EDIT: if you need examples of this happening, post away and I'll show you. | |
I haven't actually seen the movie, so I don't have much of a comment. Usually movies that generate a lot of hype I try to stay away from. Most war type movies in general I don't enjoy, Jarhead was cool though.
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AVATOLD AHAHA
Anyway, it's like making a video game specifically for fans of whatever. No matter how good it is, they will find something to bitch about. | |
Who cares? It's not like all movies are supposed to be accurate. Just look at Nam's Angels.
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