Reviews

David O. Russell originally created "Soldiers Pay" for the anniversary DVD re-release of "Three Kings." Unfortunately, he was quoted in the press at some point in 2004 saying that he hoped his new short documentary, which would be included on the new DVD, would convince people to vote against Bush. The studios caught wind of this and killed the project, but allowed Russell to take his short film with him so that he could still release it to the public.

"Soldiers Pay" is mostly talking heads. This isn't a Michael Moore ambush film. The people who Russell speaks with are the ones who count - soldiers who served in Iraq and know what they're talking about. These are the men whose stories have been ignored - by the media and by most Americans, especially those screaming the loudest about supposedly "supporting the troops."

Unfortunately for all Americans, especially our proud soldiers in uniform, Russell's short was released well after the election and to very little fanfare.

Despite potential charges from misguided and uneducated Bush supporters, this documentary is absolutely and positively pro-soldier. The very title speaks for itself - "Soldiers Pay." Pay they do - their time, their lives, their souls, their sanity. And they do it for chicken feed.

All of these issues are raised in the film. Russell speaks with veterans who have PTSD. He speaks with those who lacked body armor and weapons - when Halliburton and other contractor employees had the best on the market! And he speaks with soldiers who broke the rules, who stole money. But his focus always comes back on target - the know-nothings who sent those soldiers into harms way in the first place. Sure, some soldiers stole from Iraqi civilians, but they usually did it because they were desperate or were ordered to do so.

In the end, as Russell slams his point home, when the you-know-what hits the fan, the lower enlisted pay the price. Prisoner abuse, theft, deaths (American or Iraqi) whatever, the brass all the way to the White House get off without a speck of dust on their suits.

"Soldiers Pay" says it all.

The fact that this film is currently listed as one of the top 250 films of all time here strains the long term credibility of the IMDB web site. Can't blame the site, of course, it's just a whole lot of hype out there and it's clouding people's judgements.

While the special effects are great, this is in fact the worst of the series for the lousy performances (and the script they were given) by Portman and Christensen. Come on people, Anakin is a whiny little brat! The "romance" between them is as fake as a three dollar bill. And the first half of the movie is an absolute bore. Lucas basically spent a whole lot of money on special effects and stapled it onto the this piece of crap called "Attack of the Clones."

Until this movie is put into its proper place (it doesn't belong in the top 2500 let alone the top 250) critics will have free license to ridicule IMDB users. Sigh.

Pay it Forward isn't a great movie, certainly not a classic. But it is good -- the actors, setting, dialogue and, especially, the entire concept of paying big favors to three other people.

What is most annoying here on IMDB are all the reviews criticizing the ending which many claim "doesn't fit" because the audience didn't see it coming or that it negated the entire film -- sort of a "path to hell is paved with good intentions" sort of thing.

The idea of paying it forward, as expressed in the movie, is that it's not for yourself. In the process of paying it forward you, in fact, might lose -- get hurt, not be successful, whatever. The idea that paying it forward might be a "safe" act is never shown in the movie. In fact, it's almost always shown as an act of sucking it up, sacrificing, or taking a chance. Only in a perfect world does one always succeed when taking chances. That's why the ending isn't as ill fitting as critics might have us believe.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The idea was to "change the world." Pay it Forward is a bit sappy, a little too sentimental perhaps, but still a great teaching tool to all of us. And as the ending shows, just because someone pays it forward doesn't mean they're "entitled" to something good. I wouldn't rank it a Citizen Kane, but I would say it's one of the most life affirming movies you'll see in a long long time.