Reviews Literature / Generation Kill

Top-notch military slice-of-life.

I say "slice of life" because, although Generation Kill follows several Marines at the beginning of the Iraq invasion, that just happens to be the specific time in their lives we're seeing. These are people like you and I, they have personalities, hopes, dreams, and most of all, a point of view on what's going on around them. Both Wright and HBO have gotten a lot of flak for the "negative portrayal" of military personnel, but it's not negative, it's just real. When the Corps itself recommended the book to its officers, and the actual Marines featured in the book helped with the miniseries' production to the point of one of them playing himself, there doesn't seem to be much reason to think that Wright or HBO sacrificed truth for the dramatic embellishments made to entertain the audience.

And it is entertaining. G-Kill in television form is not a documentary. As far as the book goes, Wright's writing, though obviously not built as a fictional narrative, is highly succinct and doesn't over-dramatize anything. As a reader, you'll find things easy to follow, owing to Wright's courtesy in avoiding military-speak in favor of civilian-friendly relations of events. The show follows the book almost to a T, with differences largely - though not entirely - made up of scenes that are simply missing rather than direct changes. The actors really gave it their all, and while the first episode intentionally offers no remorse in its assault of Loads And Loads Of Characters all in the same clothes with the same haircuts, everyone quickly becomes distinct from one another thanks to the wide range of performances. PJ Ransone practically steals the show as Corporal Person, easily one of the most memorable roles in recent history.

If you're looking for political discourse or something akin to the John Wayne-era of romantic war with soldiers conducting themselves civilly at all times, this isn't for you. If you want something that's more true to the way human beings behave and how things can go wrong from the simplest honest mistakes to full-blown incompetance, look here. Generation Kill isn't a war story, it's a road trip that just happens to be set in a war. And that's a good thing.