Robert J. Maxwell Two Iraqi ideologues blow up a Humveee with an IED and rush away to safety. The Marines retaliate by bashing their way through the nearby houses and "shooting everything that moves." A dozen or more innocents are killed on the spot. The result of the Americans' actions is dutifully filmed by al Qaeda agents and used as recruiting material. The Marine corporal in charge of the engagement is at first applauded for his leadership and recommended for promotion and a decoration and then, when the incident hits the American press, brought up on multiple charges of murder.It's a tough movie to watch. It's not preachy, although all points of view are presented, but the harsh irony is a bit much to bear. In many ways the most emblematic scene has an innocent young man running down a hill in the simmering and smoky aftermath of the shoot out. He's searching for his wife. But the Marines gun him down from a hundred yards away because, after all, what is an Iraqi man doing running at a time like this? It's at the least suspicious.But then his wife arrives, screaming, and throws herself on the dead body. Ramirez, who is leading the fire team, approaches her with his rifle ready and shouts at her to move away from the body. She doesn't understand English and he speaks no Arabic. The wife finally flings herself at Ramirez and begins beating his shoulders and for a moment it seems that she will be killed as well.That seems, to me anyway, to be the message of the film. Murky but powerful forces can bring together people who simply don't understand each other and the result is a blood bath.The Marines we meet are brash but sympathetic figures. True, they are kind of dumb, but then many of us are pretty dumb when it comes to situations like this. One leader calls the insurgents "cowards" because they hide among the women and children. The men may or may not know why they are in Iraq but it's not their job to know. Their job is to define the enemy and kill him.Complications arise when the "enemy" blends insensibly into the "innocent civilians." A woman or an adolescent child can carry a rifle or an explosive as easily as a fully grown man.Disregarding values and ideology, that problem is common to all armies of occupation. The Germans had similar problems in occupied countries like France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. And, like the Marines in Iraq, the insurgents were a disparate group drawn from different ideologies, some more extreme than others. The core of the Greek resistance, for example, wasn't al Qaeda -- it was the communists. And, as in Iraq, resistance from extremists was met with retaliation against ordinary citizens by the Germans.This isn't an expensive epic of a movie. It's not "Blackhawk Down" or anything. The production values are lower than that. And I understand it doesn't stick to historical fact. Some of the acting is weak and the dialog contrived. I don't believe any U. S. Marine has ever said, "I'll be haunted by this guilt for the rest of my life." The story isn't easily described as "sad" despite the numerous murders. "Tragic" is a better descriptive. The "bad guys" here aren't so much the Marines, or the active insurgents for that matter. It's the configuration of values and political decisions that have brought these two forces together in a state of conflict.

afdan2321 I had to turn this movie off 3/4 of the way through. No joking. It is brutal to watch and the depiction of the Marines in this movie is horrifying. I understand some of the buildup "discussions" they have in the movie almost as if it was some documentary type, but of course they're still acting. Either way, there are major generalizations being implied in this movie. Very poor acting and phraseology if you wanna call it that.I read in earlier reviews some of the people talking about the lacking factual basis of the military scenes and I'm not even concerned with that. It just seems so fake to me with all the acting. That's on the side of the marines and insurgents as well. I would definitely NOT recommend watching this movie..

semperfubarsk-232-791868 After reading through some of the reviews I felt I had to chime in, though I am sure almost no one will read this. Before I give my observations on the movie itself I would just like to point out that many who stated this movie was an accurate portrayal clearly has no experience or expertise that would qualify them to make the statement. Something I hope people keep in mind when reading other reviews. As a Marine who actually served in Haditha as well as many other locations, reading many of the reviews sickened me because it shows how little people actually understand, just as I usually wear a long sleeved shirt because my USMC tattoo brings on questions, praise, or derision from the clueless masses who for some reason believe they have some insight to any reality outside their own convenient world.That said, I feel this movie is much better then most. The film clearly had an agenda and bias, and completely off the mark in terms of representing military tactics, equipment, etc... that is pretty much standard for any movie. I appreciated how the movie wasn't overly dramatic when showing issues faced by and actions of the various parties. One thing I wish the movie did take in to account is bullets pass through those walls like paper. I would wager that a large number of civilians were killed simply during an exchange of fire between the Marines, fighters, and then civilians who may have just seen a loved one fall. I have seen this happen often and I hope one day that reality is brought to light rather then showing young Marines on a blind rampage. However, no one knows exactly what happened except those who were there, and even that "reality or truth" depends on the perspective and state of mind of the observer. Another positive is how the movie doesn't really show any right or wrong, good or bad, that things just are and "sh!t happens". If anything, I do think that is the true agenda of the movie even if there was a bias in its portrayal. Also, I appreciated the use of Iraqi dialect of Arabic instead of modern standard, Egyptian, Syrian, etc. Another accuracy plus was how close the town/city looked compared to cities of the region. Though clearly not Haditha, I have not seen any movie closer to the truth in that regard.On a personal note, I think many of the comments made by Cpl Ramirez were spot on if a bit staged. I am not going to comment on any particular comment because you either understand or you don't. Also, and I know this is a bit of a stretch, but I refuse to give credibility to any one who may seek to either attack or defend (verbally) our war fighters because context is everything and the most people don't have or understand the context.I recommend this movie to anyone who is able to take if for what it is worth by dropping the expectation of realism while not adding meaning where there is not. Also, I hope people realize that no matter how many actual Marine veterans or Iraqi's (most westernized), the film is a product of the film maker and subject to their interpretation. I only wish I could have had my say about the movie sooner, if only to plant the seed that people should take this movie, and the other reviews including mine, with a grain of salt.

blanchardar As a former Marine I am deeply offended by this movie. It is nothing but an Anti-American, Anti-Military movie. This movie tries to portray itself as a factually based movie based on actual facts. It is not. Instead it is based completely on lies. All of the Marines have been acquitted of all charges. This movie was designed to make the Marine Corps and the US look stupid. It makes the insurgents look good.I have gladly deployed twice as an infantryman to Iraq. We have done many good things. I can honestly say that as this movie is completely wrong in how it portrays Marines. We don't talk like that, we don't act like that and we sure as hell don't go around shooting innocent civilians. The "Peace Loving" Sunni insurgents on the other hand have slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians in the name of Allah. If this was a fair movie it would be 99 minutes of Insurgents killing innocent civilians and 1 minute of us killing insurgents with some innocent civilians getting accidentally killed because the cowards hide behind women and children and use them as shields.This movie is a disgrace. If any of you believe that this is a portrayal of what actually happens you are either foolish or so biased that nothing will change your mind. This movie isn't anything like what happens over there. Insurgents are less than human. They are barbarians while American Soldiers are some of the most honorable people in the world.