This film has attracted political controversy, with claims that it portrays US soldiers in a negative light, and may contribute to anti-American sentiment in Iraq and elsewhere. Sites like "boycottredacted.com" have accused Brian De Palma and Mark Cuban of treason, and called for the general public to avoid watching the film.
Republican Duncan Hunter, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee complained in a letter to the chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America that the film "portrays American service personnel in Iraq as uncontrollable misfits and criminals" and "ignores the many acts of heroism performed by our soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors in Iraq."
However, critic Kyle Smith opined that "De Palma isn't trying to insult the troops but illustrating how any war puts men in impossible situations."
De Palma himself has commented "the right wing is gonna come at this film. I mean, I've done something that is, it just can't be done. You can't ever say anything critical of the troops." He argues that the film provides a realistic portrait of U.S. troops and how "the presentation of our troops has been whitewashed" by mainstream media. He expects that its graphic images will stir public debate about the conduct of American soldiers.
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