Wooden, disjointed, clichéd. Random flashbacks pop in an out and don't do much to push the story along. Actually, they show up to put the brakes on any kind of momentum building in the main arc of the film. The acting ranges through very good, to "meh", to community theater. The action is limited, and not very convincing. Low budget, yes, but considering the current standards for realism and this movie was made in 2006, it doesn't make it any more appealing to the crowd that watches war movies just for the bang and spatter.That said, it's a wonderful thing this film was made at all. This segment of American history has spent too long stuck in a dusty corner. The combat record of this unit alone is worth a dozen Saving Private Ryan's. Maybe someday a major studio will quit concocting fictitious accounts of heroism or making rehashes and remakes, and come up with the money and direction this story deserves.

"Only the Brave" told the story of an aspect of World War II that I had no idea ever happened. And I can't claim to even remotely have heard about this particular unit in the US army. And as such, then this movie really had an impact on me and my understanding of World War II.This truly was the tale of forgotten heroes in World War II, and it is a movie that should be seen by anyone who has an interest in the events of World War II.The story told in "Only the Brave" is about the 100th/442nd infantry battalion in the American army; a battalion which were Japanese-American soldiers. This battalion had to prove their worth in the African, Italian and France campaigns of World War II.I will say that the story was nicely told, with a good amount of action, but also with a fair amount of character development and some nice and touching moments for some of the characters when they were reminiscing or during their final moments. The action scenes were nicely shot and nicely choreographed; as it was like you were there in the action yourself.As for the cast list, there is just one word necessary - wow! It was truly a spectacular ensemble of actors that they had cast for the various roles in this movie. And people did great jobs with their given roles, both soldier and civilian roles alike."Only the Brave" really blindsided me and genuinely surprised me in a way I had never seen coming. This is one of the more remarkable and memorable World War II movies that I have come across, and I can only warmly recommend that you watch this movie.

Last night my wife and I viewed this film at the Director's Guild Theatre in Hollywood. My first impression as it ended was that I was glad that a movie like this had been made! Lane, the director, was kind enough to field questions from the audience after the screening and learning how they did this on a shoe-string budget made the film even more impressive to me. The acting was superb, the camera work was on the money and the writing was top notch. I can't wait to see the final version! Kudos to Lane and his production crew, to the actors and the fund-raising effort that made it all happen. This film needs major distribution and the sooner, the better!

I recently saw Only the Brave, and I was very impressed!I had seen an earlier screening of this film, and although I had thought there were some very effective scenes, things didn't seem to flow together. Well, it is obvious that the director and editor have been working hard because the version that I just saw was very tight and a huge improvement over what I saw a few months ago.I thought the combat scenes were very well done and they did a good job of conveying the amount of tension and fear that these soldiers must have been feeling. But even more so, I loved the little glimpses into the personal lives of each of these men. They helped to create fleshed out characters that the audience could have an emotional connection with.The acting was all very strong. I liked the art direction which did a good job of making this film a step back in time to a different era.I watched this screening along with my father who was a veteran of the 442. He was deeply moved by the film. Kudos to Lane Nishikawa and company for making a very important movie.