Review of The Messenger (2009) by Justins. — 04 Dec 2009

Good movie, but ultimately a disappointment. it felt like someone was trying to tack on a love story in order to pad the running time and it just didn't work. the romance (really just about everything except the casualty notification stuff) was pretty weak.

so why do I give this a good rating? because the aforementioned scenes where the two soldiers have to do their jobs were OUTSTANDING. just very well done and the acting by the grief-stricken family members was amazing, especially by Steve Buscemi and the father who discovers that not only did his daughter get married behind his back, but she's suddenly a war widow.

if the director had stuck to that, this would have been hands down one of the best films of the year, if not the decade. I challenge you to watch those scenes and not be devastated. unless you're undead, it can't be done.