Battle Scars (2020) User Reviews

Terrible

[garyrees-72209 · 3/10 · 9 August 2020]

Lost interest when the troops are in Nam in the year 1969 but one of the guys has a pack of cigarettes with a bar code.WTF???? Bar codes where invented years later in 1992, pretty dumb eh. The film itself was awful.

Depressing

[andyonmob · 3/10 · 28 July 2020]

Sad movie which is depressing throughout. A tale of PTSD that went untreated. A war with no just cause has no heroes and those who fight it are quickly forgotten

2nd hand low budget, 2nd time changing the line

[ops-52535 · 4/10 · 1 August 2020]

Due to low budget caracterizes this vietnam war -film, unfortunately. i dont think american spruce and sitka-fur is an invasive spiecie in south east indochina, but all the battle scenes are recoded in an environment like this. there a loadss of others, but i leave them for you to find, its like a game of ''spot the ball'' that had a feverish popularity in european media in the predigital age.

well its the story of 3 buddy boys of latino, puerto rican, and a hint of italian genealogy, growing up in new york city in the 60's, being drafted invoulantarily into freedom fighters for the saigon government of vietnam, and to surpress the evolving and enerving development of communism in the region.

its the story told basicly postwar, where the lives as vietnam vets feels far worse then fighting the nims, and where desperation and depression decides how to maintain life in the years thereafter.

i did like the start of the film when the boys where kids, thats the most and only promising part of the flick, but it soon becomes so close-up cameraangles of dpressed, sour and desperate facial looks and the dialouges are so monotone and stury as lichen on a rock, that you will be in danger of falling of the wagon of emancipation and the emotional gunfire becomes too boring to overcome. the actors does their job pretty well and fair, but the script and storyline is meant to be teardripping and therefore no chance of overly engaged acting.

productionwise, ive mentioned use of cam, and the sound quality and soundmix dialouges/musical score are at times of bad quality. ''youve got tinnitus'' , you might say, and yes, i do, but this is something else.also repeated use of clips troughout the movie have a tiring tendency, but there arent to many glitches on the 1960-70's time realism.

well, making a war movie needs budget, thats for sure, and my thought is that the vietnam war is timed out, after all its almost 45 years since it ended, and most veterans have subsided due to age , lifestyles that doesnt prolong life and suicide and the hardcore of survivers are subdued these days(2020) caused by a certain viral disease. on the bottom you might find a little cry of racism debating the backlog. but thats the thoughts of a grumpy old man. just dont raise your flags of glory until youve seen this, cause its viewable,but it doesnt engage fierce feelings.a small recommend

WTF

[stadalninkas · 1/10 · 22 August 2020]

Sorry about 1*. Actors work worth 5-6*. What killed all the movie is pine trees battle scene in Vietnam😃. OK, low budget, but it's no excuse to film it on your backyard. Dronw flying over pine tree forest in Vietnam? Really?

BAD!

[bren-t-mgr · 1/10 · 8 November 2020]

Bad budget, bad actors, bad story, bad everything... Don't watch it!

utterly painful to watch - may as well buy an audiobook.

[kfh-13616 · 1/10 · 20 August 2020]

The script is the laziest story-writing i've ever come across...

The director makes zero effort to visually tell a you story.. so you spend almost 80% time listening to the main character (mikey) tell you what is happening in his life and why... vs actually seeing a story.. Mikey just goes on and on pretentiously deeply about his trauma war, darkness, horror etc etc utterly unconvincing... but there is no story just a bunch of background, scenes and flashbacks and overused cliches.. You may as well buy a really bad unoriginal audiobook. There doesn't seem be any supporting characters, they just appear and pretty much disappear with no development.

There were lots of attempts at intense, dark visuals, imagery and could see what the director was trying to do but its so overused its just annoying.. i watched it to the end just to see if it was the bad all the way through... and yes.. it was..

Lastly, it then dedicates itself meaningfully to brave vietnam war veterans and their conditions and ongoing suffering (this is the only decent part of the film) as if it legitimises this awful piece of film - but it doesn't. Its bad.

This is a VERY BAD FILM

[chantel72 · 1/10 · 24 February 2021]

OK, there are bad films...and then there are very bad films! This was hard to watch on all sorts of levels. The story is extremely lazy and no connections are made with the character development whatsoever! Then the use of modern props and or technology that's obvious not form the era of VIETNAM! This was a level below low budget filmmaking and not because of the money involved.... do NOT recommend watching this at all.

SIMPLY BAD!!!

[Thehorrorfilmcritic101 · 1/10 · 23 January 2021]

This is one of the worst every battle films (even for low budget) ever made! Horrible work by the Director and hopefully he gets help from more experienced talent in Directing, writing , and producing !

Ok for an independent

[MattHankinson · 5/10 · 12 December 2020]

I knew what I was getting when I signed up to watch this. A low budget war film about ptsd and I feel you get that ok.

However the plot was a bit messy in places and the main characters decisions didn't really make sense (why not take the gold bars when he robs the place).

Some of it is really really decent - soundtrack and some of the shots however it gets cancelled out with some of the cringy script.

The sex scene came out of nowhere and was quite uncomfortable. And I felt like the ages of the characters didn't add up (how old was his son at the end?!)

Mediocre low budget.

VERY POOR DIRECTING / FILMMAKING!

[rodrigofilms247 · 10 February 2021]

This movie has a lot of problems but we have to address from the top down and start with the very bad and simply poor directing by the name director Samuel Gonzalez Jr. Also, the sets that are being filmed is laughable in relation to these type of events that actually happened... again this falls on the lap of the director who wrote this comedy! Lastly, very lazy writing in regards to this type of story that we've seen a million times even for a low budget! For someone who claims to be a veteran not very well done in relation to wars and those who have served. I would recommend not wasting your time on this film. Hopefully , he gets help from more experienced filmmakers !

Depressing

[OzMovieWatcher · 3/10 · 29 July 2020]

I found this movie very hard to follow. It seemed to be all over the place. The plot I found tormenting and was a movie that lowered my spirit. Did not enjoy it at all.

Very fun watch

[troydaweslol · 8/10 · 28 July 2020]

For a low budget indie feature, it was very exciting and a big surprise at the end!

Eye opening post war flick!

[milecottage · 9/10 · 28 July 2020]

This independent movie really takes you for a ride. Part psychological thriller part post war film seen through the eyes of the main character. It goes deep into the some of the realities of post war life for soldiers and the effects of ptsd. I enjoyed the ride, check it out if you're into this genre.

Check it out

[illyakonstantin · 10/10 · 28 July 2020]

I was thouroughly impressed with this production. It's gotta be hard to pull off a war movie and the performances were top notch. it looks like an ambitious project and they delivered. I'm excited to see what these talented filmmakers do next. well done!!!

powerfully ambitious

[gigigustininquiries-41211 · 10/10 · 28 July 2020]

Some of the strongest themes I've seen in an indie war film. The performances are solid, and the production value of the period felt authentic. I'd like to see what these film makers could do with an actual budget!

Awesome!

[alarkondave · 10/10 · 29 July 2020]

Awesome story. Awesome acting. Great directing. Definately worth it! Kudos to the filmmakers. I give a 10.

Compelling story!

[paulina_255 · 10/10 · 28 July 2020]

Loved the storyline with the kids and how it evolves into the friendship the characters had. Touching and compelling and action packed towards the end!

Great story with a very powerful message!

[atenasreynaga · 9/10 · 28 July 2020]

I loved watching this movie! It had me hooked from beginning to end, i loved the cast and the story. It also delivers a really strong and powerful message.

Great movie for a low budget independent film 👏🏼

Touches your deepest fibers

[Timuraj · 10/10 · 30 July 2020]

PTSD is a very well known condition, raising the voice for it's awareness is never going to get old, but the way the message was delivered through this film touches your deepest fibers. Definitely worth watching it.

Important message to send

[mfloresgodoy · 10/10 · 29 July 2020]

Even though there are many war movies when it comes to the Vietnam war. Few of them are bold enough to show what really happens to veterans after they return home.

Great movie!

[chantalmimiagal · 10/10 · 30 July 2020]

Gripping & deeply moving film, the acting was excellent. The difficult transition from military to civilian life is real and many people are unaware of their invisible illness (PTSD). Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I recommend this movie highly!

Amazing Movie!!

[ramonrra · 10/10 · 29 July 2020]

What a movie, what an excellent movie!!! That is what first went through my mind after seeing this masterpiece. I've seen many movies, but there aren't much movies which had such an impact on me. Nowadays almost all filmmakers believe they can only make a good movie by adding loads of special effects and lots of huge explosions without story. The actors played their roles in such a convincing way that you would think these weren't actors at all, but real soldiers.

What a great movie!!!

bros it made me cry !

[roger_2020 · 2 August 2020]

The epic scale and action set pieces alone make this film 5 stars. The brutality and emotional toll of war is captured well in the settings and acting, especially the opening 20 minutes. 10/10

Eye opening experience

[Sushijoint · 10/10 · 3 August 2020]

I did not know what to expect but after watching Battle Scars it left me questioning many experiences and behaviors of people with PTSD. I had no idea of the many battles all soldiers face, then coming home and dealing with a whole new battle of the mental trauma all by themselves. Kit Lang, Vince Benvenuto, Emily Trosclair, Illya Konstantin and Arturo Castro have all done an amazing job of telling this story. I look forward to seeing what these young actors and directors have in store for us next. Thank you for sharing your talents, it really was an eye opening experience.

Surprising offering

[oldshooter · 8/10 · 5 August 2020]

I had no preconceived ideas when I signed up to view the movie. It was a puzzle since I knew none of the people involved. Mostly mainstream unknowns. It flowed fairly smoothly until near the last third of the movie and it had me wondering were they going to the up lose ends? Much to my surprise they did. It is a depressing movie about a depressing subject, but handled better many I've seen trying to do justice to the subject matter. It is worth the time and effort to see this movie. Some won't like it, but I think most will find merit.