When Johnny comes marching home again. Hurrah hurrah. We'll give him a hearty welcome then. Hurrah hurrah. And so goes the song that plays well in movies but not so well in real life. Men returning from war are never the same as the boys that went to war. It matters not if you won or lost. It matters not if you were burning farms in the Shenandoah..watched the battleships burn at Pearl..or were one of the Chosen Frozen in Korea. War changes men. Some more than others.

Tommy Lee Jones was a Vietnam vet. He was an army sargent proud of his service and his country. Most of all he was proud that his sons followed in his footsteps. One of his sons returned from combat in Iraq and then went missing from base. Evidence turned up of an incident where the base and city boundry met. Neither the military or the police showed interest in the case. Jones pushed the matter. A jurisdictional feud arose between the police and military. Neither wanted the case and deferred to the other side.

Jones persuaded a female police office..Charlize Theron.. to join him in investigating the disapperance of his son. A trail of drugs, prostitutes, strippers and secrets led him to a place he did not want to go. What had become of his boy was overshadowed by what his boy had become.

Events caused Jones to doubt his belief in his country. Some may even feel at time of war this movie borders on treason. Others may just want to hug a vet. It is a strong statement that the demons of war follow you long after the swords are beat into plowshares.