Combat Obscura

WOW!! This was bad. There was more video of the ground than anything else. The movie is incoherent with no particular point. For Mike's next movie I willstart a go fund me to hire him a sound engineer. The sound goes from 0 to 10 and up and down the entire 70 minutes. I had to constantly adjust he volume as I watched. It really is a bad movie. It the point is o show snapshots of war there are better movies of random soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan on YouTube. Generally movies have a story to tell. This movie is very disjointed with no flow, nothing to follow. Mike doesn't even engage us with his unit. I give this a hard pass.

Patchwork footage of fighting the Taliban and trying to win villagers' hearts and minds. Principally unfocused.

Screenplay...................................... 3 / 10 Interviews........................................ 3 Visuals................................................ 6 Sound................................................... 7 Editing................................................ 4 Timeless Utility................................. 5 Total.................................................... 28 / 60 ~= 4.7 (rounded to 6) Verdict................................................. Passable for a general audience.

This film has received a lot of criticism for its lack of narrative story telling, and I can understand why that might frustrate some viewers. However, the title of the film promises exactly what it delivers: a view of combat from the periphery. Obscured from direct line of sight.

In my opinion, this is the most candid and realistic account of combat to be portrayed in documentary form. And it effectively conveys the absurdity and intensity of modern war.

This film is not supposed to answer questions. It is simply here to illuminate a side of war that is rarely seen.

I find this film incredibly refreshing in its honesty. The concept is fully realized and perfectly executed. I think it will serve as a staple for future generations that wish to understand America's war on terror and the men who fought it.

It shows true segments of wartime experience and also what young people who we send to war sometime act like. However, the negative is what naysayers key on. Fact is, what sometimes is said and done in that situation doesn't translate well to the civilian world out of context. The language, horseplay, and interaction with civilians and the enemy are all by products of war. It is harsh, ugly and dark. Our Marines are just trying to survive in an impossible situation not of their own making. It is what it is.

This movie is really interesting and well made. It shows the conflicting intellectual and spiritual toll war takes on individuals. On the other hand, it does a good job at depicting soldiers for what they really are: uneducated, narrow-minded, monoethnic, monolingual, violent, murderers, without any pride, honor, or courage, whilst convincing themselves they have all three. They clearly lack the wisdom and the intelligence to take or save a life. It conveys the true necessity to jail all soldiers for life, or give them the capital punishement. This movie provides a raw insight into the minds of individuals who are responsible for the destabilization of the Middle East, and for listening to even less educated politicians.