Generation Kill - HBO Miniseries (1 Viewer)

[ScottH]

Surprised to see there wasn't a thread on this already being that it's a David Simon/Ed Burns effort.

I loved it. The scene where they were reading the letters from the schoolkids was great. And was that Ziggy?

 

[TravisR]

They're definitely off to an interesting start.

Hopefully people will be able to stick to the show and leave politics out of this thread so it can remain open.

Yep. Also, I think one of the Marine higher ups (I have no clue about ranks) was also a supporting cop on The Wire.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Can one Keep Politics out of a thread about a mini series based on the Iraq War? My guesses would be no. But I'm interested in seeing this and am DVRing it. I might liet it get to two episodes as I'm on vacation next week before I watch it. Plus I watched Stop Loss last night and there's only so much Iraq I can take before my Head explodes.

 

[TravisR]

The first episode of the mini-series did so I think discussions about the show can do the same.

 

[Michael Reuben]

As noted, however, the show itself (at least the first episode) didn't really contain any politics. It was all about the experience of these particular soldiers and the reporter embedded with them.

M.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

How political is the book on which the series is based?

 

[JonZ]

I liked it, but didnt love it.

First ep, mainly to introduce us to the characters.

I did like the lack of pussy being the cause of the worlds problem rant.

Will be watching the rest.

 

[John_Lee]

Liked the small things.

Sixta's speech patterns.

The Hitler walk in the background while Sixta was chewing out the mustache .

The omnipresent dip.

The 'gay' soldier getting into full gear and lading himself with stones for a casual sprint.

Also loved how the soldiers came back on the KKK soldier with hard hitting smaque.

 

[SDRANGER619]

The show has sparked my interest. Looks good. As a former Marine myself, the Marine characters on the show are spot-on...especially the SgtMajor.

 

[Marty M]

I'm going to pass on watching this mini-series. The subject matter is just too recent for me to look at objectively.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I liked it. As others said, 1st ep is getting to know the characters. I have a couple friends who are recent ex military. Neither have seen it yet, but they echoed Edgar about the "types" being spot on when I described some of the scenes to them. Does not seem to be very political so far. Mostly about the "day to day" of invading a country.

 

[Bonedwarf]

I hope it keeps the politics out as much as it can. We all have our opinions, and even with the geniuses of Burns and Simon behind it, they're not going to make anyone change their opinions.

I always knew the supply issues out there, but never realised it was THAT bad.

Was awesome to see Ziggy. I saw him and thought "Damn, he looks familiar... Who is he?" Took a couple of minutes until I figured it out. Very pleased he seems to be a major character as he's VERY good. The journalist is familiar as well so I'm going to have look him up on IMDB.

Really liked the show. One thing: Is this the first movie or TV show set during a war that is still going on when it airs?

Regardless, really looking forward to next part.

And Rudy is awesome. Very cool it's the REAL Rudy they've cast in that role. Loading up with stones and gasmask and going for a run in the desert = HARDCORE.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I was telling my buddy about the marines using their own money to buy supplies and he said it happens more often than you'd think. He told me he was deployed on a covert op involving some drug dealers. When he opened his pack, he found that they sent him to the jungle with desert camo and Belgian ammo that wouldn't fit his weapon. So he had to buy supplies from the drug dealers...

 

[MikeyWeitz]

The Journalist is Beecher (Lee Turgesen) from OZ.

 

[Edwin-S]

I recently picked this set up. So far, it has been pretty good. There is a scene in the third episode that I thought was really quite well acted.

It is where the Sgt-major is reaming out a troop for losing his helmet. The irony of a buffoon screaming at a troop about affecting the safety and operational effectiveness of his unit due to losing a battle helmet was quite a sight. The actor pulled off his ludicrous rant so well that, by the end of it, all you wanted to see was him being beaten to death with his own helmet. The soldier's response, after the Sgt-Major departs the scene, reinforces the stupidity and incompetence previously displayed. It was funny how the response echoed my thoughts after the exchange ended.

Basically, the response was, "I'm not the fucking retard that lost a supply truck loaded with C4".
In some ways, I actually think this show is even better than The Hurt Locker.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Edwin-S

In some ways, I actually think this show is even better than The Hurt Locker.

I thought Generation Kill was alot better than The Hurt Locker. I'm not knocking it (it's a very good movie) but I just don't get all the love for The Hurt Locker.

 

[ScottH]

Originally Posted by TravisR



I thought Generation Kill was alot better than The Hurt Locker. I'm not knocking it (it's a very good movie) but I just don't get all the love for The Hurt Locker.

I'm with you there Travis. Definitely enjoyed 'The Hurt Locker', but also think it's a bit overrated. And the first half is a lot better than the second half. Hard to compare the two, but 'Generation Kill' is probably a better, more ambitious effort.

 

[Edwin-S]

Well, up until now I've avoided watching any Iraq war related movies. The Hurt Locker was the first Iraq war movie that I decided to see. I liked the film because of the way that it was shot and the fact that it focussed on the hazards that the men faced. The shooting method really made the audience feel like the fourth member of the team and the emphasis on the day-to-day activities that the men face was, to me, a departure from your standard war movie. Saving Private Ryan also does this, but SPR still manages to send the message that fighting WW2 was still a noble effort. THL didn't project whether the Iraq war was a noble objective or not. It just said there's the war and this is what these guys face in dealing with it.

Generation Kill is a lot like that too, but as you watch the series it definitely starts to seep in what a fucked up mess it was and is. So far, I'm leaning toward GK being better than THL in the long run, because it actually does tend to make a statement about what a poorly executed mess the Second Iraq War is. Also, the characters in GK are just more developed; although, a seven hour series does give immensely more room to do that type of development than a two to three hour movie does.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Generation Kill is based on real people, no? I've heard from a few real soldiers that they don't find the main characters in The Hurt Locker to be all that realistic (even when they like the movie overall).