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Don't Believe the Hype

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Great performances from the whole cast but especially Monaghan. Also, good to see John Savage again - in a small role as Maggie's father. Movie deals more than just with the situation facing returning vets, also with the complexities of modern families.

A wonderful but heartbreaking little gem, with Michelle Monaghan turning in a world-class performance not unlike Emily Blunt's in Edge of Tomorrow. God, can she be tough, especially in the scenes where she goes toe to toe with fellow soldiers--not all of whom are, shall we say, evolved. Speaking of evolved, the scenes of development between her and her son are first-rate, and the kid is remarkable (unless, like Shirley Temple, the director told him his puppy had just died before his big scenes.) From my own experience with the new and improved all-volunteer army as well as with the Vietnam era Big Green Machine, I think the writer-director absolutely nailed the catch-22 world in which the troops find themselves. Torn between loyalty to family and duty, the insatiable demands of a too-small force with too many endless missions, and everybody, from the beleaguered O-3 who has lost his own family to the squad leader E-5 who sees only his own selfish need, without a clue to the dueling pressures upon his platoon sergeant.This movie, little as it is, forces us to really see the consequences of what we blithely demand of those few poor enough, idealistic enough, or loyal enough to sign up for what turns out not to be the gateway to a better life but rather an endless treadmill that grinds them and their loved ones up while the rest of us sit back here with our stupid yellow ribbon car magnets and "thank them for their service." This movie should be required viewing in Congress and the White House.

This movie stars Michelle Monaghan as Army Sergeant Maggie Swann, and her performance carries this movie. We have several young friends, male and female, in the military and this take opens your eyes to the difficulties.The first 6 minutes of the movie shows Swann in action, in Afghanistan, as a medic. There is a tense scene where a soldier has an active device embedded into his side and Swann has to cut into him, in the field and without anesthetic, to remove it, possibly risking detonation.That is her life, she is tough, she is good at it, she doesn't flinch.But when she gets back to the states, to her post at Ft Bliss near El Paso, Texas, she finds life there almost harder to deal with. Her son was 3 1/2 when she left, now he is 5. He doesn't seem to remember her, and resists, but she doesn't want to leave him with her ex-husband and his fiancée. Plus she gets put in charge of training a new group of medics to be deployed in 6 to 9 months.This movie has no easy answers, it shows how difficult military service, especially in times of war, can be on soldiers, males and female alike. Monaghan is nothing short of superb and looking every bit the part. SPOILERS: She is told that her 'temporary' training assignment was changed and she will be deployed again. Instead she swings a change, 2 years in Korea, where she can take her son with her. But literally in the last hours the sergeant she vouched for to take her place had a breakdown of sorts, she realized the mission and the safety of soldiers hinged on it, so she accepted the deployment, and in the emotional penultimate scene she has to tell her son goodbye again, not knowing if she would return to him. The final scene shows her back in Afghanistan, wearing two watches on her arm, and noting it is her son's bedtime back in Texas.

After a 15 month tour in Afghanistan, decorated Army medic Maggie Swann (Michelle Monaghan) returns to a cool reception. Her ex-husband Richard (Ron Livingston) is engaged to his pregnant girlfriend Alma (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Her son Paul doesn't remember her and views Alma more of a mother figure than her. She is still struggling with traumas from the tour and regular life is hard for her.I really love Michelle Monaghan's performance as the hardened Maggie. Her relationship with her son is compelling. In fact, I prefer the movie just concentrating on that and leave out the romance. There's nothing wrong with the love story but it feels common. The mother-child story feels fresher. It takes the often-repeated story on a less traveled road.