Who payed the critics

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Everyone in the world had heard of Jessica Lynch in 2003 . You remember don't you ? All American girl who joined the army . got sent to Iraq and got captured by the Iraqi at the battle of Nasiriyah and a week later got rescued in a daring mission by US special forces and then the Pentagon went in to overdrive stating she killed lots of Iraqis and was cruelly treated . Truth is the first casualty of war and the unfortunate thing was the legend of Jessica Lynch was a legend created by the Pentagon and media departments of the US military probably by the same people who stated Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and that's why he needed to be overthrown and in a strange way Jessica Lynch became a casualty of war twice over I first saw a clip of this TVM when the arguments of what really happened at the battle of Nasiriyah was in full flow . The thing that struck me was some very impressive and bloody battle sequences you wouldn't expect from a TVM which instantly reminded me of the ones seen in BLACK HAWK DOWN . In fact it's fair to say that director Peter Markle heavily inspired by Ridley Scott's film and that shouldn't be taken as a criticism . Also be fair to does portray Lynch being unconscious for some of the battle , not like having her gun down countless numbers of Iraqis till she ran out of ammo That said Hollywood likes to print the legend and in order to make a story more compelling embellishment and artistic licence is needed . After all spending a week in a hospital bed in a semi conscious state , even in Iraq doesn't lend itself to compelling drama . That said this TVM could have been worse . Imagine we had Hollywood running the American military and the Pentagon running film studios . It doesn't bare thinking about

My wife's first cousin Robert Dowdy was the 1st SGT in the 507th Maintenance Company. The baby wipes, they were send to him by his mother Irene, not his wife. They should do a movie on an anchor in Cleveland who went to Robert's parents house. This guy lied by saying Robert was dead just to get Robert's sister Roxanne to cry in front of the camera. Robert's fate at that time was unknown. It was a good movie, unless you had a family member to die in it. Movie's like this tell a story to the public who really wants to know what happened. The public at large will provably never know that Robert Dowdy called his mother and ask her advice about going to Iraq. He called his wife as well. One said go, one said stay. You see Robert went for another soldier who ask him to go in his place. He told Robert he had three children. This was the sole reason Robert went. Always remember, they are always a story behind a story. Most viewers set on the edge of their seats watching this movie, and a few of us cried.

First of all, it was not "too early" to make this film. Alot of people are criticizing it for coming out too soon after the events, "it happened like, six months ago!" a friend of mine, who refused to watch it said. People should be reminded that war films to rally the homefront, released shortly after the real events took place are a tradition. During World War II, there were many such examples, such as "Wake Island," and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo." So this TV-movie is not only a product of the short-attention, mass-media cash-in-on-every- human interest story trend.That's not to say that this is a "war-propaganda" film, even if it does have heroic and patriotic elements. The story itself isn't totally sensational, and it hasn't been spectacularly "spiced-up"; The original myth behind this story had Lynch claiming that she'd "rather die" than surrender, emptying her M-16 against her attackers. The un-sensational details of the event stay that way for the most part.The truth is that there are many stories that could be told about what happened (and what is still happening of this writing) in Iraq, and I think we should appreciate a dramatized depiction of events there. Since the Jessica Lynch rescue received so much attention, this was not a bad choice for a story to tell.The film is best in its opening 40 minutes. The atmosphere and situation are very convincing; driving Humvees through fog, crashing because of lack of sleep, and the fear of being left alone in the desert during the advance all contribute to the atmosphere of "being there." When the action moves to the ambush, it is shot with realism and depicts many of the things that have characterized this conflict; seeing armed Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint, not knowing whether or not they will fire upon the Americans; the stares and ambiguous nature of the Iraqis, whether they are soldiers or civilians. The nature of this war's conflict is presented well, with the Iraqis slowly setting up an ambush and then initiating the fight with a Molotov-cocktail thrown at a humvee. The combat that follows is shot realistically and is frightening and graphic. Honest respect is given to our enemies, who are much less-well equipped, as they take down an American convoy and, exhilarated, fire shots into the air.The rest of the story is subjective, as conflicting views from analysts, the Iraqi lawyer, the hospital workers, and Lynch herself make it difficult to tell. But there is a myth behind this story that, although admittedly "dramatized," isn't really exploited.There are some touching, genuine moments, including the rescue when the American troopers meet Jessica, and she says, "I'm an American soldier, too." It is understood that there was no resistance at the hospital, and that the hospital staff would have handed her over to the Americans. But the brave US troopers did not know this, and for all they knew they could have been walking into an ambush.Where the story is flawed is when it depicts the interactions of the Iraqi lawyer who took part in Jessica Lynch's rescue. His vocal explanation of why he must help Lynch doesn't appear authentic nor does his logic seem genuine; he claims that he feels for her as he sees her being abused, "what if she were my daughter?" Wouldn't he have seen numerous similar crimes committed by the Fedayeen before? His encounter with those Hussein loyalists is suspenseful, but probably somewhat fictionalized. I also would have liked to have known more about the real Jessica Lynch, her background and desire to be a teacher serve more as typical backstory here than they do to flesh out her character.Probably the most controversial moment of the film comes when we see Jessica's parents informed by the military that she is ok, by phone. I didn't know how to react to this, since many family members across the US are receiving the exact opposite message from military messengers. But I am grateful for a look inside this current conflict, and hope that more films about the Iraqi war are made in the future.

Overall, the made for TV movie was well acted. It was good to see that the focus really was not on Jessica Lynch, but rather on Mohammed Al-Raheif. If you've read his book (which this movie is based on), you will see how he risked everything just to save this woman. He really was the hero and it's too bad that SO MUCH attention was put on Lynch.Good things about the movie: well-acted, focused on the Iraqi, felt like you were in Iraq, visual and sound effects acceptableBad things about the movie: a little slow paced, some of the scenes don't seem to match the Al-Raheif's book, visual and sound effects could have been better.