Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ciaran Hinds

Dir: Kimberly Peirce

Rating: 3.5/5

Best know as director of Boys Don't Cry filmmaker Kimberly Peirce tackles another controversial subject surrounding the military and the war in Iraq.

Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has just returned to Texas after a harrowing final tour in Iraq. He's accompanied by the remaining men from his unit, all of whom are more than a little shell-shocked.

Welcomed home as a hero, Brandon is awarded a Purple Heart by a visiting state senator. But the homecoming quickly turns sour, as each of the soldiers struggles to assimilate back into society.

Tommy (Joseph Gordon Levitt) can't lay off the booze, and Steve (Channing Tatum) roughs up his fiancée. Brandon is eager to put the war behind him, but that dream quickly fizzles when he learns that he has been "stop-lossed," or ordered back for another, involuntary tour of duty.

Stunned by the news, he goes AWOL and forms a plan to get help from the senator who so recently honoured him. He hits the road for D.C., all the while trying to cope with PTSD and battle flashbacks.

Torn between his fierce patriotism and what he believes to be outright betrayal by the U.S. Army, he doesn't know where to turn or what to do. He is ultimately faced with the harshest of choices: Iraq, or a life in exile.

While there have been a string of movies documenting the war on terror that have been nothing short of poor filmmaking Stop Loss follows in the footsteps of In the Valley of Elah by bucking this trend.

The film really does delve into what happens to soldiers when they return from tours of duty and are left to integrate back into society without help from the military. Joseph Gordon Levitt portrays the troubled Tommy perfectly he really is one of the industry's most underrated actors as he struggles with losing comrades in the war and turns to drink.

But the main subject matter behind the film is the issue of Stop Loss, an untalked about method used by the US military that forces it's soldiers back into service against their wishes, despite the sacrifices they have already made for their country.

Phillippe is superb as the patriotic Brandon who tries to fight the system and come to terms with the betrayal of the army that he so loyally served.

He backs up his superb performances in Crash and Flags of our Fathers further highlighting that he has moved past his teenage pin-up status to become a serious actor.

While many may sigh at yet another film that is tackling the idea of war on terror Stop Loss simply is not a piece of propaganda cinema as it tries to uncover the flaws in the American military and the way that it treats it's troops.

Stop Loss is out on DVD 18th August

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw