I've seen many documentaries about various wars and battles, but with a couple of helmet-cams and one of the deadliest locations in the region, this show might be the "realest" one of all. I love "Restrepo" and many others; I SO admired the war correspondents & journalists filming in such danger - but this isn't at all buffered for the safety of the camera people. This unit gets fired at, bombed every single day - no safe place to hide - and bc you're watching from the helmet of an active participant, you run, you hear gunfire and can't tell where it's coming from, you turn and suddenly see a buddy injured or worse. It's not close to the action, it's IN THE ACTION. Highly triggering for anyone with PTSD, but for those who don't - I consider it must-watch bc the very least we can do is be as close to what these soldiers felt and faced day-in and day-out. Journalists have to have some sense of safety - they're so valuable - even though obv many die... but I've never felt the adrenaline & fear & REALNESS as I did watching this excellent show. Just from watching 5 episodes, you get a small sense of how daunting, torturous, terrifying & psychologically affective & damaging being in this situation for 24hours must be, much less for months on end. It is as close to the real feelings and heart-pounding moments and frustrations and faces as a 5-episode piece could be - and I was grateful for the chance to watch it. Most of us can never really imagine what war is like - or even different wars (Vietnam vs Afghanistan for example) - but this was the closest experience to it & it quadrupled the awe (and reservations) I have for the kids & men sent into a battle like this. Heart-pounding and VERY well-worth watching. It's kind-of the least a civilian can do, and humanizes troops and forces in a way few docuseries have.
Review of Taking Fire
