Effective point, but laboriously put.

Clint Eastwood directs the first part of his World War II double feature, a story about the power of images in war and the effect of war on the individual. Four men are plucked from the carnage of the Battle for Iwo Jima as a result of a single photo, perhaps the most famous image of war, and forced to serve the war effort on a promotional tour of the US.

The story is served well by the leads showing the young men coming to pieces in their own ways, enthusiasm, the memories of war and naivety about their situation leaving the viewer in no doubt as to their exploitation by the ‘system’.

The film suffers however from a feeling of deja vu, particularly in the effective but now seen-it-all-before Private Ryan style beach attack (including washed out photography). The film also suffers from jumping between times; battle to tour to present day interviews. The effect is obscuring the narrative and leaving the film feeling about half an hour too long.

A slight misfire from Clint Eastwood, that feels worthy but somehow underwhelming.