Stop Loss

By Robbie Collin

AT bleeding last. A half-decent Iraq movie.

Out goes the whiny moralising—in comes some glossy camerawork, a hip-hop soundtrack and some decent human drama.

Stop-loss is the term used when the US Army makes a soldier stay on beyond the end of his agreed term of active service.

This happens to Iraq vet Brandon King (Ryan Philippe) on his return to Texas. He cracks, goes AWOL, and his best buddy Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) is charged with tracking him down.

Writer-director Kimberly Peirce lets the story speak for itself—without turning it into an isn't-war-awful tut-fest—and proves that modern-day war films can be slick and smart.

Letting viewers make up their own minds about the moral questions is the smartest move of all.