60
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAn honest, on-the-ground documentary about the lives of Americans fighting there. It has no spin. It's not left or right.
- 75New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithThis documentary, which begins at a low key, gradually becomes intense and psychologically complicated.
- 70Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesChicago ReaderJ.R. JonesIt's the epitome of an embedded war report, though Rademacher's at-ease scenes with the soldiers have some of the warmth and terse humor of Ernie Pyle's, and there's some hair-raising footage of a machine-gun firefight.
- 65NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloAllowed remarkable access, presumably because of the familial connections, Rademacher comes up with compellingly unfamiliar documentary footage.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMade with the full cooperation of the Pentagon, Brothers at War makes the war on-screen seem eminently winnable, eminently noble. Rademacher's desire to prove himself to himself, and to his soldier brothers, may stir different reactions among different audience members. And that's as it should be.
- 60Film ThreatFilm ThreatHarrowing, heroic, and occasionally gripping.
- 60VarietyVarietyProvides some interesting perspectives but also veers dangerously close to vanity project.
- 50The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinIt’s practically a feature-length infomercial for the military.
- 50Washington PostWashington PostThere are much better Iraq documentaries than this one, but Brothers at War distinguishes itself by peering out over the emotional chasm between soldiers and their families.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceI can, however, object to the bathetic, misty score and the endless close-ups of American babies to remind us "what we're fighting for"--and to the filmmaker's belief that support for our troops and support for their mission are one in the same. Just because Rademacher believes his film to be "non-partisan" does not make it so.