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Movies / Upcoming / Full Battle Rattle
Full Battle Rattle

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Full Battle Rattle (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 23

Fresh: 17

Rotten:6

Average Rating: 6.6/10

Consensus: Full Battle Rattle is an insightful, eye-opening account of the preparations soldiers must make for their service in Iraq.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release: Jul 9, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: An intriguing and sometimes intimate documentary, FULL BATTLE RATTLE is an important peek behind the curtains on military preparations for the most dangerous stage of all: the war in Iraq. The film opens with what appears to be a deadly... An intriguing and sometimes intimate documentary, FULL BATTLE RATTLE is an important peek behind the curtains on military preparations for the most dangerous stage of all: the war in Iraq. The film opens with what appears to be a deadly ambush of a U.S. military patrol in Iraq. In fact, it is one of the many simulations conducted at the U.S. Army's National Training Center in California's Mojave Desert. There, the film follows one particular battalion's travails as they engage in a variety of combat and cultural exercises in the fictitious Iraqi town of Medina Wasl. Led by Lt. Col. Robert McLaughlin, the battalion will have two weeks to show their mettle as they respond to a full range of scenarios, from the promise of reconstruction to the dangers of insurgency, before deploying to Iraq. Also doing their part are some 1,600 actors employed to bring these scenarios to life--everyone from returning U.S. soldiers now playing rebel insurgents to homesick native Iraqis anxious to lead a more secure life in America. Directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss take a decidedly impartial attitude towards their subject, though telling moments include one soon-to-be-deployed soldier's frustration at seeing an Iraqi celebrate his U.S. citizenship. And when we learn that the base is being retooled for operations in Afghanistan, FULL BATTLE RATTLE brings home a powerful message of the difference between fantasy and reality in times of war. [More]

Director: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber

Director: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber
Producer: Tony Gerber, Jesse Moss
Composer: Paul Brill

Reviews for Full Battle Rattle

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

Keeping the style objective and routine, [co-directors Tony] Gerber and [Jesse] Moss remain non-judgmental of the bizarre carnival they have uncovered.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/14/08
Matthew Sorrento
Film Threat
Ratings Image

It is an enlightening lesson in modern warfare.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
08/08/08
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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A keenly insightful film concerning an unusual training program for war-bound U.S. soldiers.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
08/08/08
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times
Ratings Image

this is such small stakes compared to the real war that the film can't help but feel equally unimportant.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
07/30/08
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine
Ratings Image

If you thought Disneyland was fun, take a trip to this complete simulated Iraqi village in California, and learn how the other half live. And die.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
07/27/08
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics
Ratings Image

Educational and enlightening.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
07/14/08
Eric Monder
Film Journal International
Ratings Image

This increasingly complicated scenario isn't scripted, peace is far from guaranteed and the line between reality and its incredible simulation has a funny way of getting blurry.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/11/08
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image

On one level, Full Battle Rattle is enjoyable for the theatrics ... On a second level ... is appreciable for what it says about the U.S. military's involvement in Iraq.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
07/11/08
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical
Ratings Image

In Full Battle Rattle, the Iraq Simulation and the war are both real and not real, confusing, painful, and horrific, for the refugees working as role players.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/11/08
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
Ratings Image

Full Battle Rattle works just fine as a two-fisted combat story, with unexpected bursts of violence peppering that old universal message that war is hell. But the added layer of pretense pushes the movie to another level.

Full Review Source: Onion AV Club | comment Comment
07/10/08
Noel Murray
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image

One of the many surreal aspects of this fabulously disorienting movie: its representation of an Iraqi heaven that's an American hell.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/10/08
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Just when I thought I had heard everything about the war in Iraq, along comes Full Battle Rattle.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/09/08
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

This documentary gives a remarkably thorough and detailed account of the difficult conditions facing American soldiers in Iraq.

comment Comment
07/09/08
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

No one expected a Baudrillard essay on the perils of sim cities, but such a heady subject deserves more than a skim job.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
07/09/08
David Fear
Time Out New York
Ratings Image

While you may wish the filmmakers had included fewer scenic shots of the sun setting over California’s high desert and instead played devil's advocate more often, the impact of Full Battle Rattle stems from its political and ideological neutrality.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/09/08
John P. McCarthy
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image

The movie fails to become a document of our time and settles for the dopey synthetic version instead.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
07/09/08
Eric Kohn
New York Press
Ratings Image

The more the players throw themselves into their roles, the more the viewer is slowly drawn in.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
07/08/08
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com
Ratings Image

comes up short, rarely seems to ask any of the tougher questions

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/08/08
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image

Documentary about a billion dollar military training center that simulates Iraqi villages in the middle of the Mohave Desert. About as much of a testimony to the folly of man as the Tower of Babel.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
07/08/08
Louis Proyect
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Ratings Image

Worthwhile for bringing these war games to light, but the filmmakers probably could have cut together their footage with narration and graphics to make it more interesting.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
07/08/08
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net
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Latest News for Full Battle Rattle

August 10, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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July 08, 2008: GIs play simulated war games in Mojave Desert documentary. Opens in new window
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