'Flags of Our Fathers' is a well-organised picture that flows rather nicely on the issues it wishes to address. However, it is hampered by its depiction of the surviving members who lifted the flag on Iwo Jima.<br /><br />Although based on fact rather than fiction the characters all seemed to be stereotypical, or fulfilling roles so as to compare and contrast against one another. You have one individual who is happy to be in the public eye, another who is angry that they are receiving such plaudits, and lastly the indifferent but stable individual who is central to the whole story.<br /><br />It does have a strong emotional core, but does not offer anything different to the many other war films that have come before. It is a sombre study of the background behind the iconic image of America at that time, and for its factual and historical focus it should be appreciated.