Generation Kill (2008/Cable Mini-Series/HBO Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B+     Extras: B-     Episodes: B-

 

 

To this reviewer HBO has made some of the best miniseries of all time.  With past greats like Band of Brothers and newer ventures like John Adams (both of which just recently arriving on Blu-ray), HBO has shown time and time again that they constantly searching the globe for new and creative elements to add to their already impressive catalog of history and fiction alike.

 

Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright’s best selling Generation Kill, which details the events surrounding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, is brought to life here in a 7-part HBO miniseries that dives into each brutal detail of one reporter’s ordeal as he comes face to face with war and the men who live through it.

 

Wright spells out in explicit detail the hardships the troops go through each day as they move from Kuwait to their final destination in Baghdad.  Whereas the series does not standup too well next to Band of Brothers, it in no way attempts to glorify war either.  Each day was a struggle for these men as supplies are low, morale is down, and there is just an overall sense of unpreparedness and confusion.

 

HBO pulls out all the stops for Generation Kill as great attention was taken to get the atmosphere and story correct down to the smallest detail.  Wright and the men he wrote about were actually on set to act as advisors, while the series was shot on location in Africa.  Aircrafts, Hummers, and so many other military vehicles are scattered throughout the series that it is simply amazing to think how they ever pulled off that overwhelming sense of realism.  Supposedly the cast even went through vigorous Marine training to get in shape for the series…now that is dedication.

 

The series does truly feel like you are reading a book (no, it isn’t boring), but more so because there is so much detail and depth behind each character.  In only 7 short episodes each character is explored, torn down, and built back up in colorful detail.  Even Wright did an extraordinary job of showing the range of the human spirit from the most emotional to the emotionless; every bit of humanity is there.  The other odd and sobering thing about the series is the lack of music.  That’s right, there is no musical score.  Sure there is a soldier’s rendition of Tainted Love here and there, but overall the sense of baron dessert and emptiness is always lingering.  Extraordinary.

 

The picture is presented in a 1080p AVC MPEG-4, 1.78 X 1 image that (like Band of Brothers) has a degree of grit and grime infused into the image to give off the hell that these men were living in.  The series mostly utilizes the white, tan, brown, grey, and overall colorless atmosphere of the desert as its backdrop; in turn not leaving much color for the Blu-ray to project or bring forth.  It is hard to distinguish intentional grain and contrast loss here, from bad Blu-ray quality; but overall it seems intentional and makes for a pleasant experience.  The main issues this reviewer has are with the weak blacks and a degree of noticeable compression.  It is a good set, just not perfect.  The sound is a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track that utilizes the full speaker spectrum and has solid, crisp dialogue throughout.  The whole sound stage is impressive and major kudos to HBO for doing such an excellent job.

 

The extras were as exciting as this reviewer would have hoped, but they are worth a once through as they feature:

 

Audio Commentaries on 6/7 Episodes

 

Generation Kill: A Conversation with 1^st Recon Marines – Evan Wright gets back in touch with the men that inspired him to write his book and this series as he sits down with 6 men of the Marine Core he spent time with in Iraq.  It is nice to see this conversation take place as the men get to reflect on the war and discuss what is to come in the future.

 

Making Generation Kill – Showcases the amazing feats which were taken to make this series happen.

 

Eric Laden’s Video Diaries – Basically a half-hour segment look behind the scenes through the eyes of one actor.

 

Deleted Dialogues

 

Episode Recaps

 

 

The Blu-ray Exclusives were tiring and not worth much, but here they are…

 

Chain of Command (Blu-ray Exclusive) – Shows the Marine pecking order

 

Mission Maps (Blu-ray Exclusive)

 

Military Glossary (Blu-ray Exclusive)

 

In the end there are better HBO series out there, but (don’t get me wrong) this was still an amazing, amazing series that will capture the attention of anyone who watches it.  It is hard to so precisely film both life and death in one foul sweep; but it is done here with extreme care and authentic, raw power.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II