I Want to be a Soldier

I wanted to like this movie. The synopsis intrigued me, and the trailer led me to believe that there was some potential. However, what do you get when a Spanish director/writer use British actors to depict a portrayal of violence and the media in the United States? A lot of confusion.

This movie is well shot, conveys a message, and has several actors who, for better or worse, evoke an emotional response from the viewer. Sadly, the message conveyed is largely inaccurate (everything from the impact media has on children, to the notion of the permanence of death - which develops well before the age of 10 mind you, is one sided or flat out wrong), and aside from being a character piece for a few of the actors to showcase their talent, the film provides little novelty to the 'good child gone bad' genre as a whole. Although several of the characters come to life, they are poorly written, and at times, flat. As the movie progresses, it is almost as if the writer / director wrap up every stereotype about how the media is a terrible influence on children and serve it to the viewer on an over-sized platter.

Due to the message conveyed (repeatedly) in this film, it comes off as preachy, which makes it hard to enjoy the movie, let alone be surprised by the manner in which the plot unfolds. Had the writer / director approached the issue with more tact, knowledge, and attempted to make the rise of Alex's behavioral issues more ambiguous, I think they would have had an independent gem. While the film brings up interesting questions about the beliefs parents have about their children, and showcases how many problems children face may be averted if parents would simply pay more attention to their child, the total transparency of the film overshadows these questions, preventing the viewer from making up their own mind let alone think about how these issues arise in society in any meaningful way. Basically, the expectancy mark this film set for itself was not reached.

Overall, this film is likely worth a rent, and may provide an interesting insight into the view foreign countries hold about the violent media in the United States. Although, I am unsure if the director/writers of this film honestly believe the message about the evilness of the media, or if they were just too lazy to accurately highlight a possible social problem. Regardless, just approach this film with an open mind, and do not expect anything new, sharp, or thought provoking.

Me, i'm 45.. young for my age in mind yet insightful to life, the universe and anything you may wish to add.

I was pointed in the direction of this movie buy a friend of mine who laid the table with the trailer.. the trailer says deep..heavy..sad, and in parts the film is that... however.. This film isn't about plots or twists or acting, although i thought the parts played by all were believable... I think to some degree we measure believability of the role by how drawn we are into the story and our own experiences of real people and situations... growing up on a council estate say.. as opposed to a largely sheltered "middle class" community, will throw you into situations that others may consider unbelievable but are nonetheless true. This story rings true across many a household... in part. don't try and disassemble this story like many reviewers do, a film is meant to take you on a journey.. a journey of emotions and thoughts, if a film achieves that... then the film is good...regardless of the "holes in plot" etc.. who cares... you see.. a reviewer tends to make the mistake of over analyzing a film rather than remembering its to take the person on the journey i mentioned earlier...if u want a more complete reality.. leave films alone and watch documentaries....

there are no glaringly obvious holes, there is no poor acting or bad scripts..it will touch you, maybe move you.. it drew a tear.. i could relate to things that were unfolding.. in places.. as i'm sure you will when you see it. There is a message in the movie..and to be quite honest its a very poignant message... watch it.. you'll like it, but it has that thing Schindler's List has... where its a good film but it feels wrong saying its good..if you know what i mean. Very worth the watch...ignore the over critical analytical yuppie reviews... its a film... a good film.

"I want to be a soldier" is a wonderful movie for all the wrong reasons. The general plot follows the vicissitudes of Alex; he is a child who wanted to be an astronaut and had an astronaut imaginary friend, up until his parents bought him his own TV. Since the TV shows lots of violent acts like shootings, murders and war movies, Alex is now a violent 10-year-old who wants to be a soldier (and has a US officer as his new imaginary friend).

The direction is quite poor in and of itself. A good portion of the movie consists of the main character monologuing about being a soldier so he can kill people, torture prisoners, make Nazi-like experiments on his victims, become a dictator and so on, while a collage of violent stock footage runs on the screen. This happens quite often, too, and I think makes at least 25-30% of the whole movie.

The characters are about as stereotyped as possible, what with Alex hanging around with the geeky kid when he's "good" and then with some bullies who smoke and have knifes after he switches over to the "bad" side. Alex's family is about as cliché as possible, with the mother being obsessed with the newborn twins, the father having an affair and both dismissing their kid's behavior as "a phase".

The "imaginary friend" concept is sort of nice and adds an interesting layer to the movie as both friends (astronaut and officer) are played by the same actor, and they switch roles depending on the phase Alex is currently in. It's not enough to save the movie from its silliness, though.

"I want to be a soldier" is quite enjoyable to watch for its "so bad it's good" wackiness and its unending stream of dumb plot devices that ultimately end up in Danny Glover stating how "TV is evil". However, it's far from a good movie if taken seriously. I can only suggest you rent this film if you're smashed and/or in for a laugh with some friends.