5/5 A Boot In The Rear; Not Campy At All!
  by Jelly Jar (Collinsville, IL USA)
This little gem took me by surprise! Initially, I just wanted to watch a movie with Mila Kunis in it to see why she was basically the only one (except for Ashton Kutcher on a smaller scale) who has made the successful transition from That 70's Show to the movies...my guess is that TV to the big scrren a very hard thing to do...considering notable past attempts and failures. Anyway, the first thing I was greeted with in Boot Camp was not only one transitional actress, but a transitional actor as well...Gregory Smith of Everwood (an exceptional and believable actor in his own right)...and a well put together movie as well. I have been aware of these "Tough Love" boot camps for many years now, and I am certain that what goes on in Boot Camp is what goes on in some of them to a degree but not ALL of them. I'm sure that many of these camps, although rigid in their ways, are also successful in what they are trying to get across to troubled teens.

Anyway, back to the movie itself. This is a chilling, edge-of-your seat tale that just never lets up, and it was well-acted on ALL accounts. I had the thought on two separate occasions during the movie that I didn't want it to end. I loved some of the characters, and I hated others. The movies sucks you in and doesn't let up. Well-written, well-directed, well-produced, and filmed with a gorgeous backdrop...Boot Camp delivers from start to finish. KUDOS to all involved!

STAR RATING - Five Stars

3/5 Ok, Not Great
  by The Tao of Netflix (Washington, DC)
In short, this movie tells the allegedly true story of the practice of sending troubled young adults to behavioral rehabilitative facilities in areas well beyond US jurisdictional long arm reaches (e.g., Fiji). The movie leads in with an ominous, yet ambiguous, reference to the "general" truthfulness of this movie, which would lend a discriminating viewer to conclude that some story was written in some obscure publication attesting to 10% of the veracity of the facts alleged as true in this movie. For all I know, the movie represents a 100% replication of reality, albeit in an ultra circumscribed, limited way. So to continue the story, a few young individuals provide sufficiently uncooperative to their parental figures that these parental figures decide to avail themselves of a behavioral correctional facility conveniently locacated just beyond US jurisdictional reaches, with the hope that this facility will provide the necessary hard love to rehabilitate their otherwise wayward young ones, and thereby permit their successful reintroduction to society. ****SPOILER ALERT**** - the movie, in a nearly affront to modern predictive sensibilities, decides to position a female in this red corrective camp, who happens to have a devoted love interest male that finds a way to insinuate himself into the student/prisoner population. Obviously these two eventually reconnect and conspire to leave on their own terms.SPOILER OVER***

Unfortunately, the movie fails. First, the group director, a somewhat fuzzily self proclaimed psychologist type is so well known for his laconically communicated "unguent" and nearly sole line in Fargo that he is too typecasted to be realistically accepted as a legitimate behavioral correctionist type, regardless of whether he's an MD, PhD or MS. He's just unbelievable. His germanic command of the English language is just too far attenuated to make this otherwise should-be-compelling antagonist compelling. Second, while the movie portrays this remote compound as a nearly completely hidden from US public view scrutiny concept, one of the primary character's male love interest finds a way to get himself involuntarily relocated to this camp, with a population of about 50 kids. Sure. So an obvious deduction from irreverential recitation of the facts is an allusion to a clear discontinuity between the literal unfolding of the story and the expected unfolding of the story. In other words, the movie is insultingly obvious; not much is left to viewer interpretation, and the viewer is left little opportunity to interpret. The story is pretty obvious in an uninspiring way. The only redeeming quality is that the production values are quite high; photography quality, camera work (e.g., lighting), and other technical factors are quite high. So while the movie represents little more than the forced spoon feeding of a predictable story, at least the visual depiction thereof is passable. Further, readers of this review should know that I rented this flick because of my south pacific obsession, hoping that its' cinematography would appeal to my local fascination. Let down. This movie could have been filmed on the beaches of Lake Erie with a few conveniently planted palm trees (which obviously would have quickly died thanks to the profusion of local water-borne industrial poisons, nevermind the continual cloud cover). So don't hope for a fun movie-transport to happier places. In short, overly predictable story line with what happens to be acceptable ok acting and surprisingly ok cinematography.

3/5 Worth a look, but a purchase? Not so sure
  by Alexander M. Walker (Chicago, IL USA)
America's fascination with the scared straight routine has long since run its course, but that doesn't mean the shock tactics involved don't still carry some weight. Boot Camp tells a story inspired by true events about the "correctional facilities" that still exist across the world, nestled away in countries whose laws don't have as much red tape as those in the good ol' U.S. of A. These boot camps aren't mini-Guantanamo Bays, their clientele never conspired to fly a plane into a building; the people being held here are problematic teenagers whose parents have run out of options and just don't know what else to do. If you'll believe it, there are in fact camps like this in the world and their purposes aren't far off from what you'll see in this thriller starring Mila Kunis - but the film's vocal approach to protesting their existence is drowned out by the very loud and clear message that these kids do need something this severe.

Sophie (Kunis) has given her parents trouble ever since they divorced and her mother remarried. Now her all-business stepfather and mother get nothing but grief from their daughter - and they've had enough. One day Sophie is snatched and shipped off to an island near Fiji where no one else will ever think to look. From here on out Sophie's life is nothing but resisting the process of the island. She resists the abuse inflicted upon her by the headmaster Norman (Peter Stormare) and the overly cruel prisoner-turned-staff member Danny (Christopher Jacot). Danny isn't really a member of the staff, but rather a strict adherent to the camp's caste system of colored shirts; having started as a defiant youth and climbed his way to the upper echelons, Danny is as cruel as anyone. Rapes, beatings and all other manners of abuse become the perks for Danny and he inflicts them upon many of the inmates, including the ever- angry Trina (Regine Nehy). The camp's stability is thrown into question when Sophie's boyfriend Ben (Gregory Smith) learns of Sophie's fate and arranges to have himself sent there to rescue her. Ben's arrival marks the beginning of the end for the camp and things begin to change - and not entirely for the better.

We're supposed to sympathize with these kids thrown into a despot environment and forced to labor away for having done little more than misbehaved - but it's hard. How do we sympathize with them when their characters are so wholly unlikeable? Even Ben, who somehow tolerates the remarkably bitchy nature of Sophie, becomes a nuisance when he's willing to turn such a blind eye to the real problem inherent in Sophie's situation: she's a genuinely troubled girl. She didn't need to be rescued, she needed to be disciplined. His efforts are noble but not what the situation calls for. With both protagonists represented as such annoyances, why should the audience want a happy ending for them? We're asked instead to wish for a sad ending for the camp and its orchestrator, who did some bad things certainly, but was generally acting in the best interest of humankind.

Kunis and Smith make themselves into detestable loathsome youths, from different angles, and in doing so make hard to care - but that's an impressive feat considering Kunis and Smith have such reputations for being very personable actors and playing characters along similar lines. Smith's stretch isn't quite as great as Kunis's as he's still nice just willfully ignorant of what's really important. Stormare works as the camp's headmaster and he never oozes evil but rather a man who believes his methods are the best way to achieve his goals. In that way his downfall never feels all that satisfying because he did less to vilify himself than the likes of Danny or some of the more vindictive youths turned wardens.

DVD Extra Features:

None.

It's not a bad film, nor is it really a good one. It's a mediocre outing that will keep you entertained and little else. So if you have a need for a thriller on a Friday or Saturday night, go ahead and give it a try.

2/5 Just had something missing...
  by Steve Kuehl (Ben Lomond, CA)
Ordered this on the premise of Mila Kunis possibly carrying a film, and they were advertising this as the "unrated" version. But in the end, you are left with feeling disappointment and watching bad storytelling.

Mila plays a troubled young lady who is sent to an island work camp by her parents. The isolated layout of this camp in Fiji could make for a beautiful filming location, but it really only gets used once or twice (coral, white sand beaches, etc.). Peter Stormare (I always remember him the most as Satan in Constantine) fills the role as the camp creator and leader of this paramilitary counseling group. The idiot boyfriend who finds a way to get himself committed to the same camp (yeah right) is played by Gregory Smith (he has a much better role in Closing the Ring).

As more unlikely events occur and an intermittent writing mess unfolds in virtually every scene, the movie strives to falter. Mila tried very hard here, and I have to give her props for taking a somewhat different role. There are plenty of important themes attempted here, including the topics of physical abuses and illegal activities that occur at these camps, but the short paragraph statement in the credits is all we are given as an extra. No supplements. The sound was average as was the picture quality. Regarding the unrated quip, everything that could give it an R happens off camera or is edited out (Mila's shower scenes and abuses towards one female character). Almost feels like a made for TV movie, but even then so much is not explained or elaborated on, that it misses the mark on being an informative film. It becomes more of a brief passion piece film about these camps.



4/5 Boot Camp/Behavior Modification is real in the US too.
  by Angela M. Smith (Seattle, WA USA)
"Boot Camp" is based in part on actual events. Many programs like this exist within the United States and abroad. Teenagers are terrorized, brutalized, and killed in these programs. They call themselves all kinds of things like wilderness camps, boot camps, residential treatment centers, and more. But, it is all a big scam to hurt families and destroy lives. Check out Human Earth Animal Liberation (HEAL), the International Survivors' Action Committee (ISAC), and Teen Advocates USA for more information on this real life, real time American gulag.