Garrison (2008)

Garrison is principally the story of two army officers, Sergeant Daniel McManus (Kerry Valderrama, also the film's writer and director) and Staff Sergeant Nathan Cross (James Barnes), two soldiers facing different but no less difficult issues in readjusting to life back home.Sgt. McManus has faced trauma whilst stationed in the war zone, but is doing his best to move forward. However, his work in training the garrison's new recruits and existing soldiers is placing strain on his marriage to wife Andrea (Elizabeth Ingalls). Meanwhile, Ssg. Cross is showing erratic behaviour and having disturbing accusations made towards him about his rapidly disintegrating marriage. When Ssg. Cross goes AWOL from the garrison, Sgt. McManus faces a race against time to find the increasingly unstable officer before the Military Police do, as arrest would mean the end of Ssg. Cross' military career.Garrison sets out with an intriguing premise, but ultimately fails to overcome it's underwritten script and very low budget. The film's presentation will undoubtedly put many viewers off, with it's drab locations, poor lighting and off-kilter camera-work dragging down many of the scenes. Although the script fails to create any real tension or drama, it does at least attempt to portray the damaged psyches of soldiers returning home from war without being too preachy or overbearing. The supporting characters are also fairly engaging, with Ssg. Xavier 'The Machine' Rivera (Jason Cox) being a standout. However, the characters are given very little to do throughout the movie, with only the dramatic final act letting them (and indeed the actors) spring into life.However, Garrison is by no means a bad film. It has an earnest quality and it is apparent that the filmmakers and cast were trying hard to make a good movie, it's just that not everyone involved had the required skills to overcome it's low budget. In it's favour, Garrison is at least decently acted by a cast of virtual unknowns and the basic story line is a strong one. Unfortunately, although Valderrama is not without some talent, his writing and directing skills in Garrison are not quite strong enough to raise this movie from the annals of mediocrity.

I hardly ever review movies but I cant believe how bad this movie was. I just moved to a new apartment and don't have internet yet so I went to blockbuster to rent some movies. This was one of them. I love movies about the military, and war flicks so I thought this one would be promising. What a waste of time. It was very painful to watch this, but I kept on at it to give the film the benefit of the doubt.Felt like shooting myself in the head by the time I turned it off. What a waste! There are a lot of garbage films out there but nothing made me cringe as much as this one did. The music they used was absolutely horrible as well! Here we have a a group of soldiers doing their workouts and in the background they have this emo/screemo song playing that sounds like a twelve year old girl screaming her little teenage heart out! Who in gods name chose the music for this film? This has to be the gayest attempt at making a military related film. I take offense to that crap!

Garrison is loosely based on a series of murders committed at Fort Bragg, by returned US soldiers from Iraq in 2002. Veteran Sgt. Daniel McManus (Kerry Valderrama) is ordered to track down a missing comrade in arms, eventually coming into conflict with a deeply damaged man whose life McManus once saved. This surprisingly impressive low budgeter is a commentary on the forgotten soldiers of modern warfare who have been abandoned by their government, as well as a look at the juggling of a family life and a military career - which, in this case, does not end well.First-time director/writer/star Kerry Valderrama (obviously creating opportunities for himself after starring in largely B-grade fare like Doctor S Battles The Sex Crazed Zombies!) delivers a solid piece of film-making, with interesting plot twists and convincing performances. He does, however, dip a few too many times into the big and truly dog-eared book of US military clichés - complete with brutally aggressive staff sergeants and suffering recruits. Apart from this, the plot is filled with enough suspense, mystery and evenly placed social commentary to keep audiences enthralled.

What irked me the most about this film was the lack of attention to details, and what I consider an important one. The flags on the right shoulders of the uniforms were correctly worn "backwards" with the canton (field of stars) are in the top right corner instead of the left. Army regulations call for the flag "to be worn so that to observers, it looks as if the flag is flying against a breeze." If a soldier was moving forward, the flag on the right shoulder would appear to be in motion. However if a flag is worn on the left shoulder, the canton should face left as it usually does. In this film some left shoulders had flags worn "reverse", which is just wrong. I've never had the honor of serving my country, but as an American I want our flag to be shown proper respect.