5 War Movies That Real Veterans Hated (And 5 They Approve Of)
3. Flags Of Our Fathers
Before courting so much controversy with American Sniper, Clint Eastwood had garnered more favourable reviews from the veteran community with 2006s Flags Of Our Fathers. Along with it's companion piece Letters From Iwo Jima, the film made a bold attempt to humanise soldiers and show them as more than just gun-slinging cowboys or gung-ho heroes out to win the war single-handedly.
It's a valiant and successful attempt, with an intense realism that lasts throughout. After completion of the film, Eastwood showed it to a number of veterans, among them Major General Fred Haynes, who had himself fought in Iwo Jima as a 24-year-old soldier. Haynes was so taken in by the film that he later congratulated the director on having using original newsreel footage to enhance realism, to which Eastwood replied "we hadn't used any newsreel footage."
It's a remarkable achievement to fool a real veteran, but Flags Of Our Fathers pulled it off. Despite underwhelming performance at the box office, it stands up as a film that wears the veterans badge of approval with pride.