Stop-Loss

Kimberly Peirce's long-hatching follow-up to Boys Don't Cry is another issue-driven look at its era: Stop-Loss hinges on U.S. military policy allowing Iraq War soldiers to be returned to combat even after their official hitches are up. In this case, a band of brothers return to home turf in Brazos, Texas, only to discover that team leader Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has gotten a Stop-Loss order to head back to the Middle East. After some flavorful sketches of small-town Texas life and the awkwardness of re-adjustment, the movie somewhat clumsily hits the road, where there's more wheel-spinning than deep insight. Peirce and co. seem to want to hit all the Iraq War bases, which may be one reason the film lacks a strong focus. Supporting soldiers Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are rather more interesting than Phillippe's brooding hero, and Abbie Cornish is stuck in a thankless town-between-two-lovers storyline. It's sincere as all get-out, but Stop-Loss feels like a project that began with an issue and a cause, rather than compelling characters. --Robert Horton~ Stop-Loss