Generation Kill (2008)

What Kill has to offer is clarity and clear-eyed empathy. TV's the better for it.

Critical without being overtly political, with stretches of boredom punctuated by the sudden chaos of firefights where it’s impossible to distinguish innocent bystanders from insurgents, Generation Kill is both timely and timeless.

Bolstered by superb acting and first-rate direction and cinematography, Kill delivers the goods in ways both unexpected and rewarding.

Generation Kill stands in the tradition of classic war movies. Vivid storytelling, superb acting and a frank approach make this a TV landmark.

Wright says. "After the Vietnam War ended, the onus of shame largely fell on the veterans. This time around, if shame is to be had when the Iraq conflict ends--and all indications are there will be plenty of it--the veterans are the last people in America to deserve it." Generation Kill makes that point so powerfully as to stand among the truest and most trenchant war movies of all time.

It’s as addictive and absorbing, in its own way, as “The Wire.”

Colbert is the series' rock, and a straightman contrast to the constantly yammering Person, his driver. As the stoic enigma and the hopped-up smart-ass speed through the desert landscape, you could almost take Kill for a surreal road comedy.

Generation Kill is rewarding in its complexity. It feels real - and that realness is bracing, sad and funny in equal measures.

Kill pays both you and its subjects two solid compliments: It doesn't scream ''Take heed: This is a work of art!'' And it lets you form your own opinions about what its social commentary is.

HBO's Generation Kill is remarkable.

Cette mini-série en 7 épisodes par les créateurs de Sur Ecoute (The Wire) retrace l’invasion de l’Irak par l’armée américaine en 2003. Même si certains aspects font penser au film Jarhead, on retrouve ici avec bonheur le souci de réalisme quasi documentaire et la patte cynique, voire acide de Sur Ecoute. Stupéfiante et d’une extraordinaire lucidité, cette série tire à boulets rouges sur cette guerre honteuse et sur l’armée US en particulier. On pense parfois à un documentaire de Michael Moore mais dont l’impact est au final encore plus brutal. On en ressort révolté, car tout cela est bel et bien arrivé ! Il faut néanmoins nuancer cette critique (bien entendu positive) avec le recul nécessaire et ne pas tomber à la renverse dans un gauchisme réducteur lamentable et anti-militariste de base (et anti-américain) comme on le fait trop souvent aujourd’hui, car sans l’Amérique, l’Europe n’est rien et reste -comme on le voit trop souvent- d’une faiblesse et d’une mollesse extrêmes face aux dictatures et au terrorisme international.

Absolutely wonderful show, based on the writings of a Rolling Stone reporter. Good actors, great characters, amazing dialogs, fantastic battle scenes. Must see!

Easily a 10/10. This is a war epic with a deep undercurrent of observational irony. Nothing hits home like the sad irony observed in the reality of war. In the end, little feels epic and there is no closure as the war has yet to rage another 17 years though as we all remember, "Mission Accomplished". However, the show is less of a dark satire or cynical humor than it is an observation of what defines modern war in the Post Vietnam era and admittedly, there may be some overlap. This is where the story's writer - Evan Wright's anti war sentiment comes in. He attempts to show that no matter the motivation or objectives, everyone in war is foolhardy. As time goes on, the marines shed their preconceptions about war and grow to despise and mistrust their leaders for their foolhardiness, yet at times these same marines expect their leaders to make such decisions on their terms as their morality reemerges and is questioned. The entire series is dripping with this sad irony. It's easy to miss some of these elements and focus on the failures of the leadership, while praising positive morality of some individuals, just like it is in war. The subculture of the Recon Marines numbs morality - for good reason, but it also magnifies the flaws in human society with its rigidity against the backdrop of war. Morality when it reawakens in war is troublesome and diverse in its presentation. This series encapsulates the experience of war in microcosm. It can be enjoyed on many levels and requires several viewings.

Probably the most underrated show of all time, Generation Kill is something like Band of Brothers for Iraq War, realistically depicting everything from horrors of war to soldier banter.

Absolutely wonderful show, based on the writings of a Rolling Stone reporter. Good actors, great characters, amazing dialogs, fantastic battle scenes. Must see!