akasomeguy-js Review of Boys of Abu Ghraib

Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014)

This movie must have been commissioned by the U.S army

[3/10 · 19 July 2014]

This movie is basically a story that tries to justify torture by showing how heroic American soldiers are corrupted by the horrors brought upon them by murderous terrorists. It tries to make you believe it's a true story by sticking a date in the film and stating it is inspired by true events but even the most patriotic of Americans can surely see through such a one sided unbalanced fantasy. Just when you think that the movie is examining the complexity of war and showing how decent people on both sides are being damaged by conflict we learn that the one prisoner that seemed decent was just a cold blooded killer and the only way to get the info was through torture. The implication here being that every prisoner detained was guilty when the chances of this are extremely remote given that people were held without trial. In the U.S people are innocent until proved guilty, why should this not be the case for rest of the world or is it just for U.S citizens. We learn how a very decent caring U.S soldier can be corrupted and driven to commit acts of torture yet there is not back story to show what drove the prisoners to commit their horrible crimes. Perhaps it is easier to think that these people are mindless killers rather than human beings who were once innocent children. I am not anti-American I am anti-bullshit. My review my may come across as anti-American because I am pointing out the complete lack of balance in this story. Unfortunately war is not as simple as the good guys vs the bad guys though it seems that is what this story would have you believe. If it wasn't for the woeful story this could have been a decent movie.