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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 5341
Released: October 23, 2007 |
| Our Price: $4.94 |
| Used Price: $0.92 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
When a humanitarian mission in Iraq is derailed by an explosive ambush, a small band of American soldiers find themselves fighting for their lives.
Description of Home of the Brave:
The fact that Home of the Brave is about soldiers coming home from a war that isn't even over is just one of the things that's off in this film; director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Mark Friedman's 2006 tale of the problems faced by the men and women returning from Iraq is also hampered by thoroughly predictable storytelling, sub-par acting, and sometimes painfully on-the-nose dialogue, reducing what could have been a provocative and challenging effort into so much TV movie fodder. When Army medic Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson, who does his best to rise above the level of the material) and soldiers Vanessa Price (Jessica Biel) and Tommy Yates (Brian Presley) return to Spokane, Washington, major readjustment problems loom, mostly due to a chaotic ambush in a small Iraqi town (occurring less than two weeks before they were to be sent home, the incident is so unsurprising that anyone could have seen it coming). Will and his angry teenage son wage their own war, while Dad takes to the bottle; Vanessa's learning to cope with a prosthetic hand, while Tommy's grieving over the best buddy who died in the ambush and the loss of his job, girlfriend, and self-respect. Those matters and the clichéd, unconvincing way in which they're handled, along with the film's refusal to take a strong stand either for or against the war, obscure the potentially much more interesting issues. Are these soldiers patriots, or merely pawns? Were they doing their righteous duty by serving in this conflict, or were they victims sent off to suffer and perhaps die by a bunch of men in suits who never saw a minute of combat themselves? Other home-from-war films, from 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives to 1978's Coming Home to 1989's Born on the Fourth of July, have dealt with these and other issues a good deal more effectively than the earnest and well-intentioned but not very compelling Home of the Brave. --Sam Graham
Home of the Brave Reviews:
When Will, Vanessa, Tommy and Jamal come limping home 
2008-03-14 - The story opens with soldiers learning their unit only has two weeks to go before returning home. If you have a sinking feeling in your gut, you're right. The unit's attacked on a humanitarian mission and a near bloodbath results.
The unit does go home to Spokane, WA, but none of them are ready for the 'hearty welcome' and most don't get it, anyway:
Will (Jackson) is a doctor who can't relate to his family or his patients and has taken up drinking
Vanessa (Biel) lost her arm in that attack. She can't relate to her old boyfriend and is having a difficult job as a phys ed teacher.
Tommy (Presley) lost:
* his girlfriend to a "Dear John" letter
* his best friend in the attack mentioned above
* his job when he returned home--oh and his sensitive boss asked: 1. did you shoot someone? 2. did you kill someone?
Jamal (50 cent) girlfriend won't talk to him. He's lost, bitter, and can't even get a discharge.
This is a worthy subject for documentation. The problem is the story's predictable, the dialog is toss-off in many points, and the whole message just gets bogged down.
If you like any of the actors, like war films, etc. give this film a look. In my opinion, "The Valley of Elah" tells the returning soldier story in a more real and better acted fashion.
DO NOT WASTE READING THE '1' STAR REVIEWS! 
2008-02-10 - First, I am an OIF and OAF vet... Put down on the Army - geez - did that person miss the point of the movie. If you have a relative or friend in theatre (that is the proper, not american spelling of the word), Buy, rent, or borrow this film.
Look at it on a broader context. What each of the roles shows is reality; if you cannot handle reality - move to Canada (especially Quebec).
This film is not about war or any branch of service. This film is about what, all too many, veterans have gone through AND are still going through. This film; stirred, dug up, overwhelmed memories that I thought I had a handle on.
I am buying several copies of this DVD and mailing it to family members; in the effort, to prevent the massive screw up they did on my return. This film is only the tip of an iceburg and I have one other family member still over there.
Take it in context - open your eyes and minds, coming back from war, especially urban warfare, is difficult and many family and friends cannot understand what is felt; or as Jackson's character said, "I feel nothing." This film should be standard issue to families as loved ones deploy...
Hom e of the Brave
2008-01-21 - This seems to be an accurate portrayal of how war effects it's participants and their families.
YOU CAN'T GO HOME? 
2008-01-19 - Since the beginning of film every way has had its own version of soldiers returning from battle. World War II had THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. The Vietnam era had THE DEER HUNTER. And now the war in Iraq brings us HOME OF THE BRAVE.
The film centers on a group of soldiers who are all part of an attack just before they are to finally head home. Involved in the attack are Samuel Jackson as a military doctor, Jessica Biel as a driver who loses a hand in the attack, and Brian Presley and Curtis Jackson as two soldiers who are not only wounded but lose a friend in the attack.
The ambush/attack runs out the first 15 minutes or so but the better part of the film takes a look behind the scenes at these same soldiers after their return. Each one has their own difficulties adjusting to life stateside. Each one has their own demons to battle. And each one is a member of the walking wounded who return home.
Jackson returns to private practice, slowly developing an overdependence on alcohol. Biel feels full of self pity over the handicap she must now overcome. Presley feels like he doesn't belong and Jackson is the vet who can't seem to get anyone to help or even to listen to him. Their stories coincide with one another, but never to a culmination of all in one place at the same time. Instead, each finds their own solution to the problems they bring back with them.
The performances here are top notch, especially considering that the characters range from new to cliché. I doubt that Samuel Jackson could do anything less than a great performance. But at the same time the movie leaves you unfulfilled, making you feel as if you've been given a glimpse of only a part of the story.
There is little doubt that war and combat would have an effect on a person. But Hollywood seems determined to portray soldiers these days as people with not ability to function once they leave the military. That or they become crazed maniacs. While John Wayne may have been an over the top die hard good guy in WW II films, these days it seems that soldiers returning home are psychos, a trend begun with the anti-war films from the Vietnam era. Remember Christopher Walken in THE DEER HUNTER or Stallone's character in the first FIRST BLOOD film. Both came off as damaged goods who were unable to fit back in to society. Somehow I don't believe that every vet that comes home is scarred beyond the ability to come back.
The bravest part of this film lies in its decision not to justify nor vilify the war itself. Instead it looks at the effects of the war and not the war itself. The viewer is left to his or her own judgment on that issue. But as for those involved in the war, we are reminded that war is hell and has an effect on those in combat AND those at home.
This is not a movie to simply entertain. It makes you think about the war and those involved. And perhaps that is a good thing. Not so much to take sides but to at least think about the whole issue through the eyes of people and not politicians.
Curtis '50 Cent' of horrible acting! 
2008-01-17 - Who the heck ever told somebody that '50 Cent' can act? He is horrible. It is a damn shame that there are actors out there that can't get a break and this piece of wood is getting roles in major movies. He is horrible. Samuel L. Jackson is so overrated it isn't even funny. He gets so many roles and apparently turns down nothing. It isn't that he is that bad, it is just that he is not THAT good. Jessica Biel is good for one thing and that is to show off her body. She looks awful in this movie and she can't act so what is the point of even casting her. I know this movie was trying to make an important point but it just wasn't very good.
