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Generation Kill depicts the initial weeks of the Iraq war from the perspective of the US First Recon marines, and is based on a series of Rolling Stone magazine articles by reporter Evan Wright, who rode in the lead Humvee for the duration of the mission and who is a character in the series. Much touted as being from the makes of celebrated series The Wire, Ed Burns and David Simon, Generation Kill is delivered with as much believability and honesty as that pedigree indicates. The makers were surely well aware that despite many attempts there had still not been a great film about the current conflict. While Generation Kill is not technically a feature in the normal sense, it certainly is an absolutely extraordinary piece of filmmaking.
Although the occasional references to Generation Kill being to the Iraq war what Band of Brothers is to WW2 are inaccurate, so too are the accusations that it's completely devoid of warzone pyrotechnics that some would hope for. There is a fair bit of very well orchestrated action here, but it is not the focus of the show. Generation Kill is about the soldiers themselves; what they went through during Operation Iraqi Freedom and how the experience fundamentally changed them as human beings. Its neither pro- nor anti-war, but it may well change the viewer's understanding of how modern armies operate and their opinion, either negative or positive, about war itself. The upper echelons of the US military are not shown in the most flattering light, but neither are they incompetent buffoons; they are people, and people is what the show is about. One of the beauties of the show is how it consistently subverts expectations: characters who seem like walking stereotypes reveal previously unsuspected depths; missions pan out unpredictably; and sympathy is elicited for even the most inept individuals.
As an ensemble drama, there is no central protagonist as such, but much of the series focuses on the crew of the Humvee in which the reporter rides. They interact like a family: the father is Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert (Alexander Skarsgard, who is actually Swedish but you'd never guess), always confident and assured under pressure, the mother is Humvee driver Cpl. Josh Ray Person (the hysterical James Ransone), always ready with a witty aside, and the kids ride in the back seat, including "scribe" Evan Wright (played by Lee Tergesen, who is the point of identification for the audience). Some characters seem ripe to become iconic figures, such as the commanding officer nicknamed "Godfather" because throat cancer has meant that he speaks in a permanently hushed whisper like Marlon Brando's Don Corleone. The difference, however, between Generation Kill and your generic war movie is that while all the characters are distinctive, none are simple caricatures.
Most of the series takes on the structure of a road movie, which prevents any staleness or inertia from setting in. The landscapes are constantly in motion, and the missions and objectives of the marines are just as variable. Unlike so many recent films set in Iraq, Kill does not simply depict it as a barren desert dotted with a few towns; there's lush greenery and tropical flora too, which keeps the series always visually interesting. Filmed in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique, the series creates a compellingly credible picture of the war-torn country. Each episode of the seven offers a different set of situations for the marines to face, each as riveting - and thought-provoking - as the last.
The overwhelming feeling after watching this seven-hour drama is that it offers the uninitiated viewer a greater appreciation of the trials and tribulations of war. You may not agree with the motivations for sending in the troops, and neither may some of the troops themselves, but this series paints a picture of a group of individuals who simply want to do their best but have the same human weaknesses as the rest of us. Generation Kill doesn't try to the viewer over the head with a "message"; it simply presents the facts and lets you judge for yourself.
The extras
Firstly, inside the box is a 22-page booklet mostly containing an exhaustive (and pretty helpful) glossary of all the jargon and slang used by the marines during the series; everything from Ass to Whiskey Tango is here. Slightly annoyingly, the 3-disc set is contained within a normal-sized DVD case which means there's not really enough room for the fairly thick booklet, making it pretty difficult to close the case (and impossible without leaving a bulge in the middle). Six out of the seven episodes come accompanied by commentaries from various people, and the variety means they never become tiresome and are well worth the time. Disc 3 houses the bulk of the features, including a 30-minute Making Of, 25-minute group interview featuring Evan Wright and the real marines of First Recon, and an entertaining 30-minute video diary by actor Eric Ladin.
The summary
There may be no cinematic masterpiece about the Iraq war, but there is a television one. Generation Kill is a superb, revealing, thrilling and gripping watch.
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