Storyline: A racially diverse group of 20 somethings from ghettos all around the U.S accidentally stumble onto an Army base and are quickly whisked away to the front line of Iraq to fight an inept group of photogenic middle eastern "bad guys". Given their utter lack of training they all start doing things they have seen on TV and in movies like give each other stupid nicknames and run into the open during a fire fight.I can't comprehend what is going on in this show. Truck drivers are being asked to attack fixed positions and run road blocks? Why? The Army has Military Occupational Specialties; much in the same way you would not hire a mechanic to run electrical wire in your home, the Army would not have transpiration play Infantry. Given the thousands of people coming back from "over there" this production company could have hired a few and made this P.O.S watchable.Source: Former Infantry Soldier.

Got lent this as a box-set by a friend after I lent them Generation Kill. They definitely got the better deal. The characters are paper thin cut-outs of the modern military movie mould plodding through the same old predictable arcs. The dialogue is clunky and clichéd and is either perfunctorily expositional or feels as though the writer's are simply making trite speeches via the mouths of their characters. The action sequences feel cheap and fake, are poorly directed and edited. They rely heavily on erratic fast zooms, whip-pans and student style post-production effects in a laughably dated attempt to feel hip. I don't know where this was filmed but it looks more like the Californian desert than Iraq. Also there is barely any actual dramatic tension.The whole thing is as mawkish as it's overly literal syrup-rock closing credits theme song.To paraphrase a previous poster Generation Kill literally kills this stone dead and I bet it cost less to make too. Admittedly Generation Kill is a lot more demanding of it's audience but the rewards are ten-fold. It actually attempts to take an objective view of the Iraq situation whereas Over There has a very pro-American subtext barely covered by a thin veneer of apparent objectivity. The structure, language, casting, performances, plot, direction, action humour and dialogue in Generation Kill are all superlative and make Over There look as dramatically dated as an episode of E.R. Goes to Iraq.You can buy the complete run of Generation Kill for 15 quid on Amazon right now. Cheap at twice the price.

The is head-and-shoulders the best war drama ever, period. The plot of every episode is realistic and poignant. The final song, typically following the episode's climax, leaves me with a chill down my spine. Furthermore, the character development is very complete. We get a window into each character's strengths and weaknesses along with some background. I especially appreciate the focus on the families left at home and their struggles. Both my wife and I were mobilized into the U.S. Army and I can tell you that each show struck a chord with us. The folks left at home in many ways are called upon to perform more acts of bravery than does the deployed soldier. Bravo!

Why is this movie considered controversial? Its so Pro-US its scary - is that the controversial part?The sober black man persuading the thug that "im a believer!" crap. The backstabbing broadcasting company twisting the story to make the troops look bad for there own gain. The wounded soldier who refuses to give up -"i just want to get back to my unit!". The strong woman supporting the wounded soldier "just give him something to fight!" The compassionate intelligence officer. Yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda, cliché, yadda, yadda, mtv-cutting, yadda, yadda, yadda, rock music. Generation Kill pwns this crap any day.