This was a pretty good movie that should have been great. Somehow though it just missed capturing the real spirit of the combat photographers, so that I was left feeling kind of meh about the whole experience. Its been based on the true story of four photojournalists who put their lives on the line to capture the fall of apartheid in the late 1990's.I think the true character of the men just got overshadowed here by the horrors they were shooting and some random, thrown in love scenes. Ryan Phillippe's accent left something to be desired too. The cinematography is amazing though, violent and vibrant and really made me wonder how they got some of the shots they did. Carter's (Taylor Kitsch) photo of the vulture and the starving child ...Wow! That's not something I'm going to forget anytime soon. 07.13

I lived in Johannesburg, working for the Independent Electoral Commission during this period, on a leave of absence from the print media. This is a true-to-life (if slightly glamorized) depiction of a group of fearless and dedicated photographers who probably ultimately defused a potential civil war by their heroic reporting.Glamorized in that they were a grungier bunch (see the photos in the credits at the end), who took far greater risks than portrayed in the movie. I dare say that the public would not have believed a more accurate story.Anyone who is interested in the history of Southern Africa should watch this. Nearly 20 years later, it still leaves me shaken.Also good to see South African actors in the movie, even if most of the leads were imports.

This story of four photographers working in South Africa during the last days of the Apartheid is a moving and often morally challenging tale. Seeing these very different men maneuver through a blood stained country in a time of devastation and civil unrest sheds light on a period most would rather forget, bringing it to a new audience perhaps too young to remember the significance of it. These were days of change in South Africa, images that were sent out to the world and helped create mounting pressure on the Government to put an end to the injustice that was the Apartheid. These are photographs that changed the world and this film is an interesting insight into the lives of the men who opened the eyes of the Western world to the plight of the South African people.Driven by beautifully created characters, this film is brilliantly acted all round but it is Taylor Kitsch who gives the most poignant performance as Kevin Carter. Kitsch ultimately steals the show with his quiet intensity, bringing life to a tragic man who has seen too much. The growing despair of his character throughout the film is heart wrenching. It is not an enjoyable film to watch at times, the content difficult to stomach knowing that these people lived through these horrors, but it is well worth it. One of the best films I have seen in the past year, hands down.

It was the early 1990s and Mandella was nearing his freedom from prison and eventual President of South Africa in its free election.There still was rampant fighting and killing between different tribes. So bad was the hate that even if a lone man was suspected of being of the wrong tribe he was beaten and killed, with the same sense that one might kill a rabbit and bring it home for dinner. Except the dead were left in the streets.Strife like this draws professional photographers, every day hoping to get a unique picture that will enhance their reputation and pad their wallet. This movie and its title are about the photographers, in particular 4 of them who became members of what then was called "the bang bang club", the men who every day went among the fighting and shooting, the "bang bangs" of ammunition. Not all of them survived.Main focus is on Ryan Phillippe as Greg Marinovich, a South African photographer who was awarded the Pulitzer for some of his photos. His romantic interest is pretty Malin Akerman as Robin Comley.The movie also treats the question, "are photographers just innocent bystanders who record the events without interfering?" In one scene we see Marinovich at first just photographing, but then trying to intercede as a man is beaten and eventually set on fire. You cannot do that job, and see what you see, without being changed.