As in most war epics filmed in our day, this is a bloody and graphic portrayal of the story behind the men who were in the famous photo taken on Mount Suribachi atop the island of Iwo Jima. It is unfortunate that director Eastwood chose to show with such graphic detail the maiming and wounding of our soldiers as if no one would understand that war is hell without being visually accosted by these grotesque images.
The story of the photo and the men who were in it is quite compelling but the gratuitous language (almost all of if spoken not during the battle scenes but rather stateside) and the excessive violence make this film virtually unwatchable by families who otherwise may have been interested in seeing the film.
