What I learned from this movie: If a cow gets caught in barbed wire, have steaks.

"Despite being a moving reminder to support our troops, Restrepo cannot help but be "Exhibit A" in the case against the unwinnable 'War on Terror.'"

Middle East = Asshole of the World

Heretofore unseen view of war in Afghanistan, Restrepo takes us into the minds of the average soldier without restriction. The reality of it all is engrossing and incredibly interesting. This film leaves the viewer wondering about the lives of other soldiers in the middle east and the simple monotony of their daily lives. Definitely the top on my list of modern war films.

What a nightmare place, but you do see that it's not ALL depressing and that people can still have a laugh in a shitty situation. Still this doc lacked something, but I don't know what

A close up look at a group of soldiers fighting for the intangible. Still feels a little detached for having such access.

An excellent military documentary. If you've never served in the military, this will give you a good idea of the tedium and stress and fear and courage that every day demands of you.

Am in the process of rewatching 'Carrier' and wanted to see another type of documentary about the armed forces and I picked the right one. Good doc.

rip.

Quite impressive and dramatic in terms of true emotions and sincere feelings. The most important question is left unanswered: what exactly are Americans doing in Afghanistan?

Offers some interesting moments you'd never catch on a news report, but at the same time sort of just drifts along without really offering the viewer any useful or unique insights. I would have liked to see more interaction with the local population, as painful and frustrating as it was to watch at times.

Unreal. Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger have some big ass balls. Was refreshing to see a doc about this subject that wasn't skewed to make you think one way or the other, just showed you what was happening and let you make your own decisions. The worst part about everything is that what they are doing is basically pointless and my god Afghanis are some stupid backwards idiots, no wonder your country is an armpit.

While conventional and predictable in its shape -- the interviews are unnecessary --, this is still a fierce and quite well-documented report bravely shot from the dangerous Korengal Valley. Despite its many light and funny moments -- there is a nervous tone in all of them, though --, this is actually a both exciting and painful take on war at its grimmest.

The drama of it isn't that shocking, but it's mind-blowing that trench warfare is still thought of as a viable solution to international disputes.

An excellent film following one platoon serving in Afghanistan. The film offers a good picture of the camaraderie built out of mutual uncertainty and dependence. It also reveals the raw truths about what life on the front lines looks like. There's a certain sense of futility to the whole mission--we never get a good look at the enemy--that raises questions in my mind about the mission overall. That said, the real strength of the film is its ability to capture a human portrait of these men.

Really great documentary about the Afghan war that isn't skewed by political views.

Considering the amount of documentaries and films on this subject, this one stands out as one of the best. Excluding one or two differences and the occasional use of talking heads, the creators seemed to have taken a page out of Frederick Wiseman's work, no voiceover, no non-diegetic music and other tools of documentaries, and let the subject talk for itself, creating a film where showing the complexities of the conflict is far more important than whether the war was right or not.

Another great doc about the war in Afghanistan. Similar to the danish Armadillo, this one solely focus on the soldiers stationed there and doesnt intercut with news stories or information about the general war. There is a huge difference in the area where the two films take place and that reflects on the outcome. Armadillo raises debate on how stationed soldiers kill Talibans, while this one is a more action packed doc about hard working soldiers in a somewhat meaningless war! Recommendable!

This documentary, along with the theme, the 'brave' soldiers, the time they were there... all pointless. It feels empty. Good men were lost and for what? This is no 'Nam or WW2, rather the residue of the Bush administration and we all know why the middle east was invaded. The documentary shows us an honest view of these boys who behave like cowboys and are obviously brainwashed by the U.S. army. The filmmakers don't take a critical standpoint, which is what this docu needed, to put sense into it

Restrepo was an incredible documentary. Captured some true, honest human emotions. They left the politics out. No mention of the morality of war. Just a great group of soldiers being filmed on their 15 month deployment to one of the most dangerous places in the world, Korangal Valley, Afghanistan.

it's a great effort by the filmmakers, and the some parts of the result is impressive. But still it lacks of originality.

This isn't objective - it definitely represents the views of its subjects. However, I think that this viewpoint is exactly what this documentary called for. It examines a subject, presents its outlook on its situation, and invites the viewers to draw their own conclusions. Simple in practice, but executed at great personal risk of both subject and cinematographer. Very well done.

Lots of respect for the soldiers in this doc, they've got big balls. This doc shows exactly there's absolutely no reason why they should be there in the first place. Taliban pays local's kids to work for them and shoot Americans. Americans wants locals to stop their kids doing this. America's solution: start building a road and employ local's kids. Locals don't want road. Taliban don't want Americans. 1+1=Logic fail.

With such amazing access, the most surprising thing about this documentary is how uninteresting a lot of it is. There are some powerful moments and a few intriguing observations about the lives of soldiers. But many times I wondered "why am I being shown this?". It often felt like random bits of not-very-relevant footage. The hands-off attitude with regard to political commentary is refreshing, and lets the viewer decide if these fellas are doing a good job, and if it's a job worth doing.

Seriously one of the best documentaries I've seen a in a long time. Not an easy task, as it was filmed almost exclusively in one of the deadliest parts of the whole world. We are let into their world and their inner thoughts and fears, and it remains a rearding experience. Even if we never learn why they were fighting in that valley in the first place.

While some of the this documentary's content is interesting its lack of editorial commentary leads to a surprisingly sterile experience. The film can only really be interpreted in the context of its viewers existing understanding of the conflict in Afghanistan, as it studiously avoids conclusions. While I appreciate being invited to think for myself I would have preferred the film take a position and passionately connect the events that it is depicting to the larger conflict.

Tedious, unfocused and absolutely brilliant. Like war itself, you cannot maintain expectations, danger could be lurking anywhere, and the only thing keeping you together is whoever is beside you at that moment.

Not a perfect documentary. It perhaps lacks a certain flow or visual wonderment that could have either made it better or worse, but who knows. Yet, the film is breathtaking and enthralling none the less. At moments it is both raw and uncompromising. Its directors capture certain moments of perpetual human honesty that viewer cannot help but become completely emotionally attached to the men and their mission. Touching at points and absolutely wrenching at others, "Restrepo" succeeds admirably.

The greatest irony is that this is a documentary that actually portrays US servicemen overseas in a more flattering light than "Generation Kill". The second greatest irony is that this is a movie that has all the virtues of a "real" war movie, and has more of them than most of the fiction films do. There's humor, brutally honest observations about the nature of men at war, and lots of exciting you- are-there combat footage of our soldiers giving the what-for to the Taliban

A helpful supplement to dry newspaper accounts of the war. Bloodshed is considerately confined to after-the-fact interviews, although reactions to it are on one occasion captured raw.

Damn this is one hell of a good documentary

"Hetherington and Junger's fair-minded chronicling of military experience remains a valuable piece of filmmaking, perhaps essential in reminding us of what warfare extracts from those who fight it." - Matthew Connolly

Their unsentimental portraits of platoon life match harsh deployment to fast, gentle camaraderie.

These last few years almost every nation that is in some kind of conflict made a film about 'brave soldiers stationed in one of the most dangerous outposts in the world'. Of course this is different because it is real. I still feel the urge to complain about poorly written, flat characters. Then again, it only shows that intelligent people find a way not to kill or die for stupid or vague reasons. Props to filmmakers for putting themselves into harms way, but it wasn't worthy.