I previously watched this film, named after the song by Bob Marley, during my time in college, I was glad to watch it a second time to get a better perspective and opinion about it, directed by Gregor Jordan (Ned Kelly). Basically, set in 1989, in Stuttgart, West Germany, at Theodore Roosevelt Army Base, U.S. Army Supply Specialist Ray Elwood is stationed. With much time to spare, disillusioned soldier Elwood participates in selling on the black market and cooking heroin for some Military Police (MPs) led by the menacing Sergeant Saad (Shiek Mahmud-Bey). His friendly commanding officer, Colonel Berman (Ed Harris),considers Elwood a close friend and has no idea he is stealing company supplies and having an affair with his wife (Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern). However, Elwood's uneventful existence changes when new First Sergeant Robert E. Lee (Scott Glenn) joins the supply company. Lee is both strict and intimidating, quickly determining that Elwood and his squad are engaged in graft. A tank crew, under the influence Elwood's heroin, crash through a gas station, unintentionally killing two soldiers in charge of a weapons convoy. Elwood stumbles across the weapons and steals them, hiding them in an abandoned missile base. Lee confronts Elwood, who attempts and fails to bribe him; Lee subsequently revokes Elwood's privileges, destroys his property, and orders new, inexperienced and by the book soldier PFC Knoll (Gabriel Mann) to bunk in his room. To get back at Lee, Elwood begins a sexual relationship with his daughter, Robyn (Anna Paquin). Lee discovers their relationship and retaliates by making Elwood and his squad destroy his beloved Mercedes-Benz during a weapons exercise. Lee also boobytraps a locker that is used to hide heroin with a grenade that kills Stoney (Leon Robinson),one of Elwood's friends. Elwood sells the stolen weapons to a Turkish gangster (Haluk Bilginer),taking a large amount of raw opium as payment. However, to save Knoll from being killed by Saad in a fight, Elwood is forced to make the MP sergeant a business partner in cooking the opium. To get the weapons out of the missile base and collect the drugs, Elwood sells out Berman so another regiment can easily capture their positions during a mobilisation exercise. Later the colonel reluctantly tells Elwood he has been dismissed from command but has had time to reflect and will leave the Army to buy a vineyard in California. On 9 November, when the Berlin Wall falls, Elwood sneaks to the base swimming pool to meet Robyn while the opium is being cooked by his squad and the MPs. When Knoll arrives with Lee, Elwood discovers Knoll is actually an undercover 2nd Lieutenant from the Inspector General's Office. While Knoll takes Robyn away, she tells him her father intends to kill Elwood, but Knoll, being a professional officer, cannot allow this. Meanwhile Saad, intoxicated by opium fumes, provokes a shootout with commandos sent to arrest everyone in the basement drugs lab. Meanwhile, as Knoll stops Lee from killing Elwood, the gunfire causes a gad leak and the building to explode. Elwood and Lee are blown out of the building by impact. Elwood strangles Lee with his handcuffs and lands on him, surviving the fall. In the aftermath, the Army posthumously awards Lee a Silver Star, and also decorate Elwood, who is transferred to Hawaii. He tells his new superior officer that Robyn remains his girlfriend and she will be visiting soon. It ends with Elwood submitting a requisition order for more excessive supplies. Also starring Michael Peña as Garcia, Dean Stockwell as General Lancaster, Brian Delate as Colonel Marshall, Tom Ellis as Squash, Idris Elba as Kimborough, and Roger Griffiths as Simmons. Phoenix is good as the charismatic wheeler-dealer, Glenn is memorable as the brutal Vietnam-vet sergeant, and there is good support from Paquin, McGovern and Harris. I am not going to pretend I understood absolutely everything going on, in terms on political and wartime issues, and it may be easy to see similarities to films like Catch-22 and MASH, but it has a good script, and some memorable moments, a worthwhile black comedy drama. Good!

1989. Impudent and incorrigible American soldier Ray Elwood (an excellent and engaging performance by Joaquin Phoenix) is involved in West Germany's black market while serving on an army base during the last days of the Cold War. Complications ensue for Ray when he begins dating rebellious teenager Robyn Lee (a winningly brash portrayal by Anna Paquin),who's the daughter of tough no-nonsense new top Sergeant Lee (Scott Glenn in splendidly steely form). Director Gregor Jordan, who also co-wrote the bold and subversive script with Eric Axel Weiss and Nora MacCoby, maintains a gutsy'n'edgy tone and delivers a wickedly funny sense of gloriously irreverent humor as he bravely takes barbed satirical potshots at the desperate measures folks will resort to in order to alleviate boredom, the disintegration of military morale and discipline during times of tedious peace, the winding down of the Cold War, and the quintessentially American spirit of capitalism and opportunism run amorally amok. Moreover, this movie makes a strong and provocative central point that man's greatest enemy is himself during peacetime eras. Phoenix's Elwood makes for a charming anti-hero; the battle of wits he has with the formidable Lee leads to a tense and exciting climax. The super acting by the first-rate cast keeps the film humming: Ed Harris as the naive and inept Colonel Berman, Gabriel Mann as the eager Pfc. Brian Knoll, Leon Robinson as the laid-back Stoney, Dean Stockwell as the hard-nosed General Lancaster, Elizabeth McGovern as the unhappy Mrs. Berman, and Michael Pena as the antsy Garcia. Kudos are also in order for Oliver Stapleton's polished cinematography and the cool rocking score by David Holmes. A real spiky delight.

It's 1989 Stuttgart, W Germany. Specialist Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is a schemer in the 317th Supply Battalion on Theodore Roosevelt US Army Base. As many soldiers at the time, he was given a choice between jail and the Army. He sells Army supplies to the black market. He cooks heroine as a middle man. His commander Colonel Berman (Ed Harris) is clueless. He sleeps with Berman's wife (Elizabeth McGovern). When drugged up tankers destroy a gas station killing two truck drivers, Elwood takes advantage by stealing the weapons in the trucks. Then a new Top Sergeant Lee (Scott Glenn) arrives and he zeros in on Elwood. Elwood tries to get back at him by dating his daughter Robyn Lee (Anna Paquin).

This is an outlandish black comedy. For the first half, I was rooting against Elwood. It could be more fun if Elwood is a funnier character. Joaquin has a dead-pan delivery. This movie could be funnier. However, it's a good satirical poke at the military. Despite a couple of questionable moments with Robyn, the supporting actors are all great. I like the spiraling chaos around Elwood and what happens to him in the crazy ending.