Rate this Movie 
Full Battle Rattle (2008)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:19
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Full Battle Rattle is an insightful, eye-opening account of the preparations soldiers must make for their service in Iraq.
Theatrical Release:Jul 9, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: An intriguing and sometimes intimate documentary, FULL BATTLE RATTLE is an important peek behind the curtains on military preparations for the most dangerous stage of all: the war in Iraq. The film... [More]
Director: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Full Battle Rattle
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 4.5/5 |
Somewhere in the Mohave Desert, the U.S. military maintains a large rural compound that contains several fake Iraqi towns. It's Disneyland for war games Full Review |
||
 |
A so-so pic on an incendiary subject. Full Review |
||
|
|
An entertaining, often very funny, but ultimately revealing and unsettling film about a US Army camp in the Mojave Desert where Iraq War conditions are simulated for training purposes. Full Review |
||
|
|
A docu about modern war games in the California desert contains little insight into the Iraq War. Full Review |
||
|
3/5 |
Keeping the style objective and routine, [co-directors Tony] Gerber and [Jesse] Moss remain non-judgmental of the bizarre carnival they have uncovered. Full Review |
||
|
B- |
It is an enlightening lesson in modern warfare. Full Review |
||
|
3/4 |
A keenly insightful film concerning an unusual training program for war-bound U.S. soldiers. Full Review |
||
|
|
this is such small stakes compared to the real war that the film can't help but feel equally unimportant. Full Review |
||
|
5/10 |
If you thought Disneyland was fun, take a trip to this complete simulated Iraqi village in California, and learn how the other half live. And die. Full Review |
||
|
|
Educational and enlightening. Full Review |
||
|
4/4 |
This increasingly complicated scenario isn't scripted, peace is far from guaranteed and the line between reality and its incredible simulation has a funny way of getting blurry. Full Review |
||
|
3/5 |
On one level, Full Battle Rattle is enjoyable for the theatrics ... On a second level ... is appreciable for what it says about the U.S. military's involvement in Iraq. Full Review |
||
|
8/10 |
In Full Battle Rattle, the Iraq Simulation and the war are both real and not real, confusing, painful, and horrific, for the refugees working as role players. Full Review |
||
|
A- |
Full Battle Rattle works just fine as a two-fisted combat story, with unexpected bursts of violence peppering that old universal message that war is hell. But the added layer of pretense pushes the movie to another level. Full Review |
||
|
|
One of the many surreal aspects of this fabulously disorienting movie: its representation of an Iraqi heaven that's an American hell. Full Review |
||
|
3/4 |
Just when I thought I had heard everything about the war in Iraq, along comes Full Battle Rattle. Full Review |
||
|
3.5/5 |
This documentary gives a remarkably thorough and detailed account of the difficult conditions facing American soldiers in Iraq.
|
||
|
3/6 |
No one expected a Baudrillard essay on the perils of sim cities, but such a heady subject deserves more than a skim job. Full Review |
||
|
3.5/5 |
While you may wish the filmmakers had included fewer scenic shots of the sun setting over California’s high desert and instead played devil's advocate more often, the impact of Full Battle Rattle stems from its political and ideological neutrality. Full Review |
||
|
|
The movie fails to become a document of our time and settles for the dopey synthetic version instead. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Full Battle Rattle
August 10, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
July 08, 2008:
GIs play simulated war games in Mojave Desert documentary.
More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!
Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.
Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds