"Thank you for your service" is based on the true story of a handful of veterans of the Iraq war struggling to reintegrate society after they're done serving. While I always thought these stories were of significant interest, I do find that most films depicting them often lose themselves in preachy patriotism or some sort of either pro- or anti-war narrative that lacks nuance. "Thank you for your service" avoids these traps for the most part, but unfortunately, its narrative framework consistently remains within the realm of clichés throughout its runtime, and the film never attempts to explore and tackle other underlying issues that could have brought much appreciated depth to its story and characters.
This is all very common territory here, with the typical bureaucrats not being too helpful, the veteran affairs facilities being packed leading to tremendous delays in treatment, veterans stuck in poverty and barely able to make ends meet, and eventually drifting into criminal activity. While this accurately reflects the very disturbing reality of a society that's always ready to send its young, uneducated, vulnerable men to fight in its wars, but will shamelessly abandon them afterwards, leaving them financially and mentally broken, the film seems content to present this various components of this harsh reality such as poverty, the centralization of treatment facilities, the lack of resources, the military culture, and others in a very generic manner, and wrap those up as a more general, overarching issue that has already been exposed quite extensively in movies and television.
The film's main strength is definitely its cast, with Miles Teller starring and offering an impressive performance that is complex albeit on the edge of being a tad too stoic at times. Beulah Koale also shines throughout the film, although much like other characters, his could have benefited from a few more elaborate and less predictable narrative developments. Nevertheless, the dialogue is fluid and adds a ton of credibility to these soldiers' "brotherhood" and to their respective struggles within their relationships. Oh, and Amy Schumer is barely recognizable and impresses for as long as she appears on screen.
The direction is overall pretty good, although, again, it just doesn't feel too much out of the ordinary. The film never seems to drag, and is well paced. The war sequences are somewhat conventional, but there are a few standout shots here and there to let you know that Jason Hall knows what he's doing.
"Thank you for your service" is an overall fair undertaking, not ground-breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but nonetheless interesting enough to keep your eyes on the screen for its entire runtime without looking at your watch. To me it felt a bit like a missed opportunity, because I think this harsh reality that these veterans face is a major issue in our society, and warrants a more in-depth meditation, which this film will not not achieve to spark, unfortunately.
