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“Stop-Loss” tells the story of a close-knit squad of enlisted men who return home to Texas only to struggle with civilian life.

The new-to-DVD “Stop-Loss” begins in an unfortunately predictable way - with Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” gracing the opening credits. Luckily though, after such a laughable introduction, the film could only improve.

The story is that of a close-knit squad of enlisted men who return home to Texas only to struggle with civilian life. Sadly, what these fictionalized characters experience while at home - constant flashbacks, depression, and problems with alcohol and family - is all too common among our soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The main focus of the film though is Brandon King’s (Ryan Phillippe) fight to have his enlistment papers honored. In another tragic real-life example, Phillippe’s character has been “stop-lost” - or ordered to another tour of duty by the President despite the contract he signed.

And in an effort to drive the point home with its viewers, “Stop-Loss” presents some staggering figures at the conclusion of the film regarding the amount of soldiers who have been affected by this disgusting abuse of executive power.

As a whole, “Stop-Loss” simply missed the mark, despite a noble effort. Most of the shortcomings can be attributed to poor casting though. Ryan Phillippe never quite pulls off the cowboy hat and Texas twang and the whiny guy from “3rd Rock from the Sun” (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) definitely doesn’t come off as a hard-nose alcoholic who loves the military.

Regrettably, the inclusion of Toby Keith and Drowning Pool to the soundtrack and poor production as a whole from MTV squandered away the great potential of “Stop-Loss” to be the modern-day “Born on the Fourth of July.”