The problem is that while these different scenes on the road may be accurate depictions of experiences faced by returning soldiers, and may be effective on their own, they don't quite mesh well with one another or the earlier parts of the film. Worse, they're the types of scenes that have popped up in several other war films throughout the years, and thus can't help but feel familiar and cliché. The result is a film that feels high on issues and ideas, low on story and originality.
Despite that which Stop-Loss does well, overall it feels like a movie rushed out to express an opinion and highlight an issue, before a solid story could be constructed around it. As a result, Peirce's well-meaning and otherwise solid film fails to command attention. If you see it, it won't be a waste of your time, but it isn't a movie worth making an effort to see if you're not already interested. So we continue to wait for an Iraq movie worth the import its subject matter automatically gives it.
Directed by: Kimberly Peirce
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ciarán Hinds, Timothy Olyphant, Victor Rasuk, Rob Brown
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