Watch Saving Jessica Lynch For Free

Touches You

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Had the look and feel of a movie made for the big screen. It was a great story with excellent acting. From all the news reports I have read about this story, the movie closely depicted the events surrounding the actual events. It made me feel good to know that they are still people in the world that will risk their own safety to help others in need.

First of all, it was not "too early" to make this film. Alot of people are criticizing it for coming out too soon after the events, "it happened like, six months ago!" a friend of mine, who refused to watch it said. People should be reminded that war films to rally the homefront, released shortly after the real events took place are a tradition. During World War II, there were many such examples, such as "Wake Island," and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo." So this TV-movie is not only a product of the short-attention, mass-media cash-in-on-every- human interest story trend.That's not to say that this is a "war-propaganda" film, even if it does have heroic and patriotic elements. The story itself isn't totally sensational, and it hasn't been spectacularly "spiced-up"; The original myth behind this story had Lynch claiming that she'd "rather die" than surrender, emptying her M-16 against her attackers. The un-sensational details of the event stay that way for the most part.The truth is that there are many stories that could be told about what happened (and what is still happening of this writing) in Iraq, and I think we should appreciate a dramatized depiction of events there. Since the Jessica Lynch rescue received so much attention, this was not a bad choice for a story to tell.The film is best in its opening 40 minutes. The atmosphere and situation are very convincing; driving Humvees through fog, crashing because of lack of sleep, and the fear of being left alone in the desert during the advance all contribute to the atmosphere of "being there." When the action moves to the ambush, it is shot with realism and depicts many of the things that have characterized this conflict; seeing armed Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint, not knowing whether or not they will fire upon the Americans; the stares and ambiguous nature of the Iraqis, whether they are soldiers or civilians. The nature of this war's conflict is presented well, with the Iraqis slowly setting up an ambush and then initiating the fight with a Molotov-cocktail thrown at a humvee. The combat that follows is shot realistically and is frightening and graphic. Honest respect is given to our enemies, who are much less-well equipped, as they take down an American convoy and, exhilarated, fire shots into the air.The rest of the story is subjective, as conflicting views from analysts, the Iraqi lawyer, the hospital workers, and Lynch herself make it difficult to tell. But there is a myth behind this story that, although admittedly "dramatized," isn't really exploited.There are some touching, genuine moments, including the rescue when the American troopers meet Jessica, and she says, "I'm an American soldier, too." It is understood that there was no resistance at the hospital, and that the hospital staff would have handed her over to the Americans. But the brave US troopers did not know this, and for all they knew they could have been walking into an ambush.Where the story is flawed is when it depicts the interactions of the Iraqi lawyer who took part in Jessica Lynch's rescue. His vocal explanation of why he must help Lynch doesn't appear authentic nor does his logic seem genuine; he claims that he feels for her as he sees her being abused, "what if she were my daughter?" Wouldn't he have seen numerous similar crimes committed by the Fedayeen before? His encounter with those Hussein loyalists is suspenseful, but probably somewhat fictionalized. I also would have liked to have known more about the real Jessica Lynch, her background and desire to be a teacher serve more as typical backstory here than they do to flesh out her character.Probably the most controversial moment of the film comes when we see Jessica's parents informed by the military that she is ok, by phone. I didn't know how to react to this, since many family members across the US are receiving the exact opposite message from military messengers. But I am grateful for a look inside this current conflict, and hope that more films about the Iraqi war are made in the future.

This movie held my attention from the beginning to the end. To see all these brave soldiers and to see what they go through, just tears at my heart. I liked how they touched on different sides of this war. I never took what our soldiers did for granted but I couldn't believe how this movie made me feel, I felt like I was right there with them. Hats off to the director, actors etc. Thank You Jessica Lynch and to all the other Hundred of Thousands of Soldiers that are out there protecting me and my family. They are all hero's in my eyes.

Saving Jessica Lynch: a first-impressions reviewThumbs up.I thought this was a good movie. It did not romanticize or heroicize Pfc. Lynch or what she endured. NBC didn't make her a female Rambo. The movie spent a lot of time showing what her Iraqi co-rescuer, Mohammed al-Rehaief, risked to tell the Americans about her confinement.The Nasariyeh battle sequence was well done. My only complaint would be showing the fedayeen just standing in the middle of the street, hip shooting their AK-47s. That's a good way to (a) get killed, as a fair number of them did and (b) shoot the sky, not your targets. But for all know, the fedayeen there really did that. Heck, in Baghdad they charged Abrams tanks with pickup trucks, so their open-battle skills seem not to have been very great.There was a lot of action about the firefight what wasn't presented, of course, but the movie was not about the whole battle. It tracked Lynch and those involved directly with her.It was good to see the American military officers and enlisted members portrayed with decency and humanity. The Iraqi medical staff were sympathetically presented, which accords with what I recall was written about them once Nasiriyah was secured and western media moved in. The fedayeen leader was something of a caricature, but on the other hand, when you portray Nazis or those like them, can you really overplay their evil?The sequence when the SOF uncovered the American bodies from the sand with their hands could have easily been overplayed. But it was understated and evocative without being maudlin.All in all, this movie was a worthy presentation for Veterans Day weekend. Kudos to NBC.PS - I am a retired US Army artillery officer.