After all the hype, nominations and awards, this film was a terrible disappointment. It is a well-shot action film set against the background of the war in Iraq. The main character is an emotionally stunted adrenaline junkie who risks the lives of his comrades again and again and again. Military experts have asserted that in the real world such a person would be relieved of his post. However, in this film a senior officer praises the "wild man" for being just that.

The script is extremely shallow and at times unbelievable. During a counseling session, an army psychologist advises a troubled young specialist that he should think of this as a good time of his life and that it can be "fun".

In another rare moment of actual dialog, a sympathetic soldier laments that if he dies no one would care except for his parents, and they "don't count". Excuse me?