The Kill Team (2013) Reviews

• Been a long time since I've seen anything resembling reality in a war movie

  jajapoepoe952014-11-02

  Not at all surprised to hear that yet another whistleblower was persecuted instead of being rewarded the highest of praise. I've done military and civilian duty in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Having said that, all it really takes is picking up (and reading) a few history books to learn what happens when you train young people to kill and send them off to do their job. I was pretty disgusted by comments made by the GI's displaying a total lack of compassion for an enemy who military and economically is like an ant compared to the US/NATO combined forces. For example the budget for a years worth of war in AFG outnumbers their entire GDP, probably not counting the opium revenue though ;). Speaking of which, opium (heroin) production also exploded after the invasion and still flourishes there last I checked. There was not one goat herder or any other Afghan national involved in the 9/11 attacks. Beside their grounds being used for training (which they easily could have received by joining a random Montana militia...they have monkey bars don't they?). As a reminder (since polls show massive ignorance among the US populace) the planning was partly done in Germany and in the USA and 15 of the 18 terrorists were from America's 'bestest' buddy Saudi Arabia and of course also homeland to OBL. All one needs to do is a simple role reversal and suppose that China invaded the USA because the Russian terrorists who attacked China received their training in the USA. That aside, these people have been invaded quite a bit and although most countries would resent being invaded, Afghans in particular have a history of being very unwelcoming to uninvited guests. No lessons learned after so much bloodshed this century, well the people making money of of these conflicts obviously have. As in the comments of IMDb I too am disappointed that hardly anyone has written a review for this doc. Either no one has seen it, or it's being kept out of the movie theaters or no one cares anymore and thinks this is just a badly scripted level of the game 'call of duty' ;).

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• amazing

  tedpk19852013-04-27

  this is about as good as it gets in terms of war documentaries. Very gripping and moving film at the Tribeca Film Festival. This film provided a good mix of first hand interviews and in combat footage/stills which really helps illustrate what the soldiers are talking about. The film also doesn't just center on Adam Winfield but his relationship with his parents and how the damage done affect all in his life. The director really explored this well and covered all of his bases. The film concludes stating that Adam Winfield is released from army prison in the summer of 2012. It would have been nice to see that part documented. That can really only be my complaint here, otherwise a near perfect film.

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• Heart of Darkness

  sixbells992015-04-05

  A true heart of darkness this documentary painfully depicts a war within a war, when men on the same side turn against each other. It painfully shows the lie that trained killers can be contained and controlled. Instead the films shows that war can lead to a moral numbness where killing of any kind is just a trophy to brag about. It skillfully shows the conflict and fear of one man faced with the dilemma in doing the right thing as his conscious weights on him yet his instinct for survival pulls against him. Yet this one man is not blameless also partaking in the butchery and murder of unarmed farmers. This is also the skill of the documentary as it leaves you with more questions than answers. Were all the young farmers killed really innocent? Is Adam Winfield really a victim or a cold blood killer? For sure his mother and father are victims and it's theirs sorrowed surrounding him that makes the film ambiguous, where you can't make out how guilty he really is. The most chilling scene of the film is where one of the soldiers said, "everyone was doing it we just got caught". A chilling film that is very different to the usual war documentary's where you see shaky cam of soldiers diving for cover as bullets fly over their head. It's also a film that asks you the question what would you do faced with a similar situation. A great documentary that shows the true brutality of war and what it does to the men that fight in it.

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• Good Documentary, VERRRRY Graphic

  Searsino2017-02-27

  Adam Winfield is a 21-year-old United States infantryman who fought in Afghanistan. During his tour, he takes issue with the behavior from individual members in his platoon being acted out upon the local Afghani people (dead young men are shown throughout, so be forewarned). Before he manages to safely alert someone to the problems taking place in his unit (and according to him across the entire military), his platoon gets wind of this and starts giving threats to ensure silence. Adam is forced to decide whether he should stay quiet or stop the activities of which he is so opposed. This film is an account of these events from various members of the platoon (including Adam). There is no doubt this documentary is an important one. It shows a young man in a situation which is seemingly unjust and unfair. It became difficult at times to watch a small guy get treated so terribly (nobody likes bullying). You can tell just how miserable and worried he is. The film leads up to his hearing where he's given three years in prison. It's quite painful to watch. The message I received was how important it is for Americans to be able to rely on a system of justice and that we all will hold one another accountable for injustice when we see it. I do however think this situation is not as simple as many will think it is. The United States military is responsible for keeping peace around the world. The Navy occupies the oceans with Super Carriers which prevent violence and war. The Airforce and Army are no different. To think otherwise is to be naive. I should note that I am not a member of the military, come from immigrant parents and was born and raised here in the United States. For me, this film has an important message to get across. I would like to challenge everyone to drop any previous opinions on these issues going into the film. There are many, MANY more amazing United States soldiers out there for each instance of a bad one we hear about in the media. That idea often gets lost in politics where the focus is on problems (rarely accomplishments). Ultimately, we can credit a lot of the good in this world to the United States military, much of which gets ignored. Being able to remain impartial for this topic makes this even more of an insightful experience. What I liked most about this was how the director didn't allow for this to run any longer than needed. A short and to the point account. ----- 8/10 STARS -------- Review by Searsino -----

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• Not really a good depiction of the subject

  Seraphion2015-06-24

  As a documentary, this movie deals with such a subject that is quite strong that can poke into sensitive areas of the social establishment. Yet I find that this movie wasn't that strong in addressing its subject. The approach of more heavier focus on interviews is not that good in telling a heavy and sensitive subject such as thus. The movie would've been far better if it incorporated some degree of dramatization, maybe some kind of reenactment of the three cases of the setup killings. That will definitely put more into focus so that the viewers can really relate to what the movie is talking about. Also the movie should really get more balanced by at least adding more interviews or other parts from the army's side.

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