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 1st 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
