Generation Kill: The Complete Series [DVD] [2008]

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This gritty, seven-part miniseries chronicles the befuddling first 40 days of the Iraq war from the perspective of the Marines' First Recon Battalion. As the soldiers journey into Baghdad, they face unclear conditions and bear the often deadly brunt of misguided bureaucratic decisions. Read our exclusive interview with ex-Marine Rudy Reyes ( /gp/feature.html?docId=1000272673 ) on his time making the mini-series. Based on Evan Wright's best-selling book, and brought to the screen by the creators of The Wire ( /gp/product/B001BBHG1S ), David Simon and Ed Burns, Generation Kill's viewpoint remains firmly fixed on the ground level, rather than proselytise the show uses its large cast and broad canvas to show war in all its visceral chaos, allowing viewers the chance to take what they can from steeping themselves in the black humour and confused terror of the experience. From .co.uk ----------- Generation Kill is a miniseries, based on the book by Evan Wright, that’s initial key selling point is a very, very compelling one. The very fact that it’s the latest project from the creators of The Wire, quite possibly the best American television series of the past decade or so, should alone be enough for people to sit up and take notice. Fortunately, the show itself has plenty of merits of its own to stand up on its own two feet. Generation Kill, spread over seven episodes, follows the opening 40 days of the Iraq war, as viewed through the eyes of Marines’ First Recon Batallion. From there, the show pans out to give a snap of the horrors, dramas and sheer brutality of war. It does it though with genuinely three-dimensional characters, who have frailties, moments of humour, friendships and backgrounds. And the show allows space to genuine explore these, much to its credit. Much like The Wire, Generation Kill doesn’t concern itself with cliffhangers, big action sequences or gimmicks. This is solid, grown-up drama, that treats its viewers as adults and is all the better for it. Granted, it’s not going to be to some tastes, and there are periods of inactivity that may test the patience of some viewers, but this is just the kind of television that people tend to complain that companies don’t make enough of. Well, they just have, and Generation Kill very much deserves success as a result. --Jon Foster