Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Stop-Loss

Play trailer 2:25 Poster for Stop-Loss R Released Mar 28, 2008 1h 53m Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
64% Tomatometer 142 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
His tour of duty in Iraq finally over, Staff Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home to Brazos, Texas, ready to re-enter civilian life. Unexpectedly, the Army invokes a clause in Brandon's military contract, requiring him to return to active duty in Iraq. With the help of close friend Michele (Abbie Cornish), Brandon goes AWOL and struggles to find a way out of the dilemma.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Stop-Loss

Stop-Loss

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Stop-Loss is sincere and complex, and features strong performances, even if it tries to cover too much ground.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (142) Critics Reviews
Alonso Duralde MSNBC But whatever you think about the Iraq war and the people who are fighting in it, you'll be shaken up and moved by Stop-Loss. Rated: 4/5 May 1, 2008 Full Review Laura Bushell BBC.com Stop Loss takes some time out from the argument over the validity of the war to ask a question closer to home - whether the emotional battlefield America subjects its young soldiers to is actually worth it. Rated: 3/5 Apr 25, 2008 Full Review Jessica Winter Time Out It's the film equivalent of a weary shrug - capturing the national mood at a moment when we'd all prefer some mood enhancers. Rated: 3/6 Apr 25, 2008 Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site It is a generally worthy effort, whose real strengths deserve recognition. Its limitations too, however, which express ongoing problems, merit thinking about. Mar 5, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com A reminder of the tremendous and heartbreaking humanity behind the war in Iraq. Rated: 2.5/4.0 Sep 24, 2020 Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List Peirce's accomplished filmmaking and fine performances overcome the predictability of a narrative asserting that occasionally the war at home can be as tough as the battlefield. Rated: 4/5 Nov 4, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Munkhchimeg T Actors are very selective and good. Quite impressed the whole story. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review Bahad j The young people behind the film have done a great job and it can be seen in this film. I liked it very much. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/08/24 Full Review Audience Member Still one of my favorite movies of 2008 Paramount Pictures & MTV Films team with Kimberly Pierce of 'Boys Dont Cry' fame Pierce handles an extensive cast and touches upon a real issue when it comes to the war in Iraq Starring Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Abbie Cornish, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Timothy Olyphant An epidemic where soldiers are stop-lossed is a constant occurrence in the U.S. army It's the biggest concern even when we fight for freedom and our country they want more, it's almost never enough They send as many soldiers back on the front line as much as they bring them back home This serves as a backdraft with words in fine print extending soldier's tours longer than expected After serving their tour and barely escaping a few soldiers come back to America thinking their fighting days are over One soldier in particular from Texas Brandon is shocked to his core he's being stop-lossed so he decides to run and seek help from the U.S. senator to turn things around He has the help of Michelle, the girlfriend of his sergeant Steve who's tired of waiting to be proposed to Even if it means going against his commanding officer and so many of his fellow soldiers are either suffering from PTSD or having difficulty adjusting to being back Ryan Phillipe has become a much better actor at this point Pierce since she has a brother that served hits on several topics like the mistreatment of veterans, the aftermath, not belonging in society anymore and it hits hard The film still has a lot of great acting, powerful performances, and heavy emotions It's good for us to feel the anger and frustrations as these soldiers do seeing that in a way they are betrayed Is all the battling and loss worth fighting for even with no effort to show for it? An important watch to this day still thatll create many debates It's very sincere and complex and reminds all of us that the war at home can be just as complicated This is very moving as is important Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Sad, sad story of PTSD war drama... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review john m Decent film on a disturbing topic. Much the way "Billy' halftime..." reflects on a hero's welcome back home vs the reality of war, this film does the same for our crew of 4. Half the movie deals with soldiers returning home, but with what they lived through in Iraq they can never really return home, and many re-enlist as a way to find the one place they now fit in. The second half is about Ryan being forced to go back after 2 tours due to the stop-loss program (Not enough volunteers, so they can force people to do additional tours), and the movie follows him on a bit of a road trip trying to find fairness while he relives his own nightmares, while giving the audience some insight into all these situations. The director experienced this with her own brother in war, so she experienced her brother changing with every visit home, and realized the public knew little about what was going on with the soldiers and their mental health struggles, not about the stop-loss program. Given that insight, I would look at this movie as more of a docu-drama/edutainment more than a war pic like Hurt Locker or Black Hawk. Editing is a little rough. Channing trying to act is a little rougher. The subject is difficult. But definitely worth catching on cable, Even though the movie is from 2008, the horrors of war still linger with us today. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Complex film about Iraqi War vets needed a stronger actor than Ryan Phillippe in the lead role to work well. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Stop-Loss

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Stop-Loss

Stop-Loss: Official Clip - King Visits Rico Stop-Loss: Official Clip - King Visits Rico 2:12 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - That Box Inside Your Head Stop-Loss: Official Clip - That Box Inside Your Head 2:11 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - F*** The President Stop-Loss: Official Clip - F*** The President 2:12 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - Soldier In the Pool Stop-Loss: Official Clip - Soldier In the Pool 2:12 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - I'm Done With Killing Stop-Loss: Official Clip - I'm Done With Killing 2:11 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - We Got Out Just In TIme Stop-Loss: Official Clip - We Got Out Just In TIme 2:11 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - I Ain't Scared, I'm Pissed Off Stop-Loss: Official Clip - I Ain't Scared, I'm Pissed Off 2:12 Stop-Loss: Official Clip - Shriver's Dug In Stop-Loss: Official Clip - Shriver's Dug In 2:08 View more videos
In the Valley of Elah 73% 77% In the Valley of Elah Watchlist Home of the Brave 23% 46% Home of the Brave Watchlist Jarhead 60% 68% Jarhead Watchlist Lone Survivor 75% 87% Lone Survivor Watchlist TRAILER for Lone Survivor Enemy at the Gates 54% 82% Enemy at the Gates Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis His tour of duty in Iraq finally over, Staff Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) returns home to Brazos, Texas, ready to re-enter civilian life. Unexpectedly, the Army invokes a clause in Brandon's military contract, requiring him to return to active duty in Iraq. With the help of close friend Michele (Abbie Cornish), Brandon goes AWOL and struggles to find a way out of the dilemma.
Director
Kimberly Peirce
Producer
Scott Rudin, Kimberly Peirce, Mark Roybal, Gregory Goodman
Screenwriter
Mark Richard, Kimberly Peirce
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Scott Rudin Productions, MTV Films, Paramount Pictures
Rating
R (Pervasive Language|Graphic Violence)
Genre
Drama, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 28, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 15, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$10.9M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now