SGT. Will Gardner (2019)

SGT. Will Gardner: Directed by Max Martini. With Max Martini, Omari Hardwick, Lily Rabe, Robert Patrick. A troubled Iraq War veteran struggling to reintegrate into society sets out on a cross-country journey with the hope of reuniting with his young son.

“Iu0026#39;m pretty sure this film must hold the IMDb record for the most fake (every) 10/10 reviews lol. Clearly the overall rating speaks for itself, and itu0026#39;s a very generous 6/10 from me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think Max Martini wore too many hats with this film. His acting was great, directing (camera) decent, but the pacing and length needed work. The screenplay is where this film had problems, with plot issues and too many long dragged out scenes, that along with the slow pace, dragged down this filmu0026#39;s entertainment value. The delusional comrade (of which the content of the conversations were mainly boring and unbelievable) and all that narrating (again, mainly boring) were unnecessary, and I feel it really toned down and took away from the film. Directing his cast also needed work.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis filmu0026#39;s production felt like one of those Hallmark/Lifetime films, and thatu0026#39;s not necessarily a bad thing, but had it been edited down to 80-90 mins instead of its long 125 min runtime, it would have been more enjoyable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOmari Hardwick, Gary Sinise as well as the rest of the supporting cast were good, but I felt Lily Rabe was over the top to the point of annoying in her opening scenes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNevertheless, an underwhelming film with a great story that should have been told better.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, mad props to Max Martini for putting his all into this film, and still pledging 30% of the filmu0026#39;s proceeds to three charities that support veterans suffering from TBI, PTSD, and veteran homelessness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWould I see it again? No. Would I recommend it? Yes, if you can get past the productions issues to see the reality of how PTST affects veterans. More of a Yes if you pay to see this film to pass on the financial support pledged to the Vets.”