The Long Road Home

April 2004. The US 1st Cavalry Division has recently relieved the 1st Armored Division in its occupation of Sadr City, Baghdad. Everything seems peaceful until one day a platoon is ambushed in the city while on patrol. The platoon holes up in a house and reinforcements are sent to extract them. However, the relief column is itself ambushed, the main aim of the initial ambush. What follows is a life-and-death struggle against overwhelming odds. Based on actual events.

Pretty good, but requires some patience to get there. I was initially expecting a Generation Kill-like series, i.e. based on a true military story, follow a unit and are engaged by the camaraderie, gritty action scenes. However, the series immediately failed on the engagement front. Scenes showing soldiers with their family seemed token, padded and superficially sentimental. The unit brotherhood also seemed quite artificial, with forced, unnatural-feeling dialogue and interactions.

The first 2-3 episodes were all like this, to the point where I was thinking of giving up on the series. Comparing it with Generation Kill is obviously a very high standard to emulate, as Generation Kill is one of the best military mini-series of all time (only Band of Brothers is better), so maybe disappointment was inevitable.

However, from a point, the series clicked into gear. The soldiers' backstories went from mundane meet-the-family stuff to interesting series of events, linking in with their current situation and revealing their characters. The dialogue and interactions became more plausible. These all lifted the engagement level significantly. In addition. the action got grittier, more intense and more compelling.

The final episode is very poignant, with a great emotionally-manipulative twist. Makes the effects of war very realistic and stark.

Overall, a good series, just don't give up in the first few episodes - it gets a whole lot better.

I meant to start watching this when it started, but forgot about it. I happened to catch it On Demand and wound up watching the first three episodes in one binge.

It's a good show. Yes, we can sit here and pick apart some of the acting or some of this or some of that, but some of these reviews are just asinine.

Honestly, I think some people could save some time and just write "I hate the military. I hate America. I hate God. I am going to bash this show, no matter what an no matter how ridiculously, unless it changes history to reflect my own personal narrative and wants".

It has a "Blackhawk Down" feel to it. The character development is fairly well done, although not necessarily done in the conventional way.

Grab a cold drink and a snack, sit down and enjoy the show. If you want an agenda driven, $$$$$$ heavy production, go watch a movie from the any major studio.

I can not believe these long winded full on negative reviews.

What not enough pazazz for you??

So full of it behind their computer screens

What would get to me is the waiting...

The wives at home needing to fill the hours to distract themselves from worrying & waiting. Stuck unable to go forward or plan ahead.

The soldiers yanked along from training to suddenly they're there in the truck, waiting to leave on their first mission,...

Many a war in recent modern history i have not believed was justified, but there is no doubting the valour, bravery & selflessness of each & every soldier, engaged in conflict.

Several things just make no sense:

1. US Army basically looks dumb and incompetent in this movie

2. They attempt rescue at night but nobody is using night vision and there is no air support.

3. They can't figure out where the 1st squad is located? really? with interpreter and another guy who speaks Arabic they can't ask or figure out their exact address/location? that is dumb.

4. They wave their arms like idiots while rescue drives by instead of shooting enemy who can clearly be seen?

5. Where are all the female soldiers?

6. Why did they need an an unarmored truck with infantry, they were a liability not an asset not once but twice.

7. why so much melodrama? Why focus on backstory of only some random soldiers, why not just do every single one?

Much of the cinematic coverage of Iraq War was focused on fighting against Saddam's army and the Sunni resistance. This movie focuses on the experience of a U.S. Army unit in the midst of the Shiite area of Sadr City. As such it focuses on the Army's attempt to win "hearts and minds" but also deal with an insurgent threat.

The depictions are gritty and realistic. However, the first couple of episodes have a few glitches. One, it implies that Iraq was considered peaceful prior to the unit's arrival in April 2004, when an active insurgency had been under way since the summer of 2003. Also, members of the unit repeatedly say one the name and rank of one of their fellow soldiers over the radio, which is a big communications security "no-no." However, it does a good job depicting the contemporary military, equipment, uniforms and customs.