Allegiance (2012)

I thought this movie had possibilities. Then the first scene has a Lt. Bribing a sergeant. While I won't say that doesn't happen, it certainly isn't that blatant. The interaction with lower enlisted and officers in the guard is fairly realistic, I find it funny the "active duty" Lt. Doesn't take offense to being called by his first name. The scenes where they are trying to fake the sergeant out by playing poker are pretty close to accurate,a lot of other stuff... Not so much. The new Lt and his getting screwed story sucks. Yeah he saw combat and got wounded. According to this story, that's it. He still had his IRR left. There are way more worse stories about that out there. I personally had to extend a year so I could deploy. Past my 20 years.I missed not deploying by a month, and yet I didn't try some massive trick to get out of it. I went. Anyway, there were possibilities in this movie, but a lot fell flat.

This is a propaganda film about USA military honor.The movie quality was good (7/10) plot was a bit predictable and moral was IMO bad. Sacrificing yourself for a "greater cause" to help your country aka protecting corporate elites interests is not a moral I share.I liked the movie until the ending which I was hoping to be different and if they would have had a different one I would have rated it higher.If you are an American loyalist who likes honor to country over family then this movie is for you, but if you are tired of glory to America recruit to the army now propaganda films like me don't watch it.

"Allegiance", which did not receive a wide distribution, played recently at Cinema Village in Manhattan. Not having heard anything about it, we decided to take a look. It turned out to be an interesting experience at the movies that perhaps deserved better because the ensemble cast gathered by, Michael Connors, the creator of this project, who also wrote the screenplay.At heart, the film's theme focuses on camaraderie,, as well as privilege, in our armed forces. It is 2004, and a division of National Guard is being mobilized to go fight in Iraq, something most the week-end soldiers holding more or less regular lives and jobs, are asked the supreme sacrifice to assist the US forces in that country. Two men are at the center of how their lives will be dramatically altered. Lieut. Danny Sefton will not accompany his comrades for he has been conveniently transferred to another location which will see no combat because he is the son of an influential politician. The other man affected is Chris Reyes, a trained medic, crucial to the operation. Chris asks for a special dispensation for his son is being treated for cancer. His request is denied. Chris turns to Sefton for help. What follows is an account of how the two men, from different backgrounds will deal with getting Reyes to stay near his sick child.Seth Gabel plays Danny with conviction. He is torn between his duty, and how he is getting away from the same fate some of his friends will have to face. Bow Wow appears as Reyes, the young man who is being taken against his will without recourse. The best thing in the film is the appearance of Pablo Schreiver as Lieut. Chambers, a veteran of the conflict who is taking Danny's place. This actor keeps showing his great talent in anything he plays.

I am not sure why is this movie having so low grade. From my point of view it is pretty much underrated. The 'thriller' genre posted over here might be misleading considering the fact that this is more drama than a thriller. No big thrills, no tones of blood but pretty good drama development. Also pretty good casting except maybe for the main role which doesn't mean that the guy doesn't act well, just that he is not really made for the character he played. Good acting and pretty good directing. The director pretty much looks like someone who hasn't made many movies but is talented and understands very well the concept of the movie development generally speaking. I love the atypical way of developing the characters in his movie where he uses face mimics, glances and silence to express the nature of the dramatic situation rather than bunch of unnecessary words. So, I recommend this movie as pretty interesting and if the director Michael Connors ever read my comment, I want him to know that he should keep up the good work.