We learn many things from this movie, but most importantly we meet Pat Tillman. We see live footage of him, we hear his voice, we get a sense of who he was. And we learn about the mystery and dishonesty surrounding his death.
That's all important and great, but what bothers me about this movie is everything else that's in it. Frankly, there's just too much stuff, and none of it seems sufficiently dealt with. There's the beginning of a discussion about the Tillmans being atheist. There's the beginning of a discussion about the pros and cons of a life in the military. There's the beginning of a discussion about how far up the chain of command corruption reaches. There's the beginning of a discussion about why Pat was really shot. And there's the beginning of a discussion on how to honor his life now that it's passed. I don't think the movie really answers any of these discussions or gets to any sound result. And as for the whole documentary style, it's 100% lifted from Michael Moore's movies. The sequence of events is told all out of order, to make it seem cool and to keep us interested, and it does keep us, but only barely, and only because we're hoping the whole time that it will solve one of those mysteries. Since it never does, it ends up being a muddled mess of a movie about a family that is waking up and beginning to realize that something isn't right. The only problem is that they haven't put all the pieces together yet. That's why it would be more appropriately titled "A Chapter from the Tillman Story".
That's all important and great, but what bothers me about this movie is everything else that's in it. Frankly, there's just too much stuff, and none of it seems sufficiently dealt with. There's the beginning of a discussion about the Tillmans being atheist. There's the beginning of a discussion about the pros and cons of a life in the military. There's the beginning of a discussion about how far up the chain of command corruption reaches. There's the beginning of a discussion about why Pat was really shot. And there's the beginning of a discussion on how to honor his life now that it's passed. I don't think the movie really answers any of these discussions or gets to any sound result. And as for the whole documentary style, it's 100% lifted from Michael Moore's movies. The sequence of events is told all out of order, to make it seem cool and to keep us interested, and it does keep us, but only barely, and only because we're hoping the whole time that it will solve one of those mysteries. Since it never does, it ends up being a muddled mess of a movie about a family that is waking up and beginning to realize that something isn't right. The only problem is that they haven't put all the pieces together yet. That's why it would be more appropriately titled "A Chapter from the Tillman Story".