Flags of Our Fathers is the latest effort from the iconic Clint Eastwood. Following back to back career highlights (Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby), Mr. Eastwood has decided to tackle World War II, and while his effort doesn't pack the same emotional or visceral wallop of Steven Spielberg's masterful Saving Private Ryan, that really isn't it's intent (although, this picture does sort of serve as a nice companion piece to the Spielberg epic).

Flags of Our Fathers follows the lives of the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, an event that would prompt a photographer to take one of the most famed photos of all time. But rather than concentrating on the nightmarish horrors of war, Flags of Our Fathers settles into a depiction of our perception of heroes and how many of those we deem heroes, don't find themselves to be heroic at all. Many of these men did fight for the cause, but some fought simply to protect their brothers.

Flags of Our Fathers follows John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), and Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), three men who became instant celebrities because of the famed flag raising photo, even though there is question as to whether or not they raised the actual flag.

As these men return home to their new found fame, they find it increasingly difficult to cope with the world's perception of them, none more so than Native-American Ira Hayes, a man who harbors so much guilt and is so stricken with nightmarish visions of what he saw in the battlefield, that he turns to the bottle for comfort.

Flags of Our Fathers is a flag waver of a film, but it's an incredibly subtle one. Perhaps too subtle. Eastwood isn't terribly interested in the war itself, but rather the after effects of the war. This isn't to say Eastwood doesn't know how to shoot a battle. He certainly does. The sweeping shots of ships making their way towards the beach of the enemy, are simply breathtaking and the fighter plane sequences are equally impressive. Furthermore, the early moments of the picture do offer up a fair share of brutal combat carnage.

Most of the film, however, features our three leads dealing with life as they return home. In a way, this movie sort of feels like it's filling in the quiet, outer edges of Saving Private Ryan. In "Flags," we see who these me are before they storm the beach. In "Private Ryan" we see what happens on the beach. In "Flags" we see what happens to these men as a result of battle. In "Private Ryan" we see the battle.

Flags of Our Fathers was written by Jarhead scribe William Broyles Jr. (with an assist by Crash writer/director Paul Haggis) and it should come as no surprise that Steven Spielberg co-Produced the film with Eastwood. Spielberg is a historian of sorts and is greatly intrigued by World War II, no doubt because his father was a veteran. Between Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and now Flags of Our Fathers, the film maker has been behind three very diverse and intimate views of this war.

Clint Eastwood has fashioned what is perhaps his biggest film in terms of overall scope (and in fact, look for his next picture–next year's Letters From Iwo Jima –which takes a look at the same events from the Japanese point of view), but I wouldn't rank this with the likes of Unforgiven, Mystic River, or Million Dollar Baby. Given it's serious subject matter, I expected a bit more dramatic weight. Having said that, I still admire the film for it's scope, it's restrained, quiet nature, and for Eastwood's masterful ability at working with actors.

Ryan Phillippe is solid as John Bradley, one of the men who finds himself an unlikely celebrity. Barry Pepper brings humanity and energy in a supporting role as Mike Strank, a highly driven and extremely loyal platoon sergeant. It is Adam Beach, however, who owns the film as soldier Ira Hayes. He's so good in the role, that he pretty much dwarfs the rest of the cast with his sincerity and vulnerability. Some might argue that his turning to the bottle is nothing but a cheap stereotype, but Beach transcends that argument with his effective portrayal of a man torn in two. Of the entire cast, it is Jesse Bradford who leaves the least memorable impression as soldier Rene Gagnon. This isn't to say this is a bad performance. It's a major step up from his work in Clockstoppers and Swimfan, but he is unable to match the power supplied by his more tried and true co-stars.

You may recognize several other faces amongst the cast including Gordon Clapp (the nebbish Greg Medavoy in NYPD Blue) in a surprisingly commanding bit part as General Smith, David Patrick Kelly (so memorable as the weasely Sully in the 80's Schwarzenegger action staple Commando) as Harry S. Truman (no, I'm not kidding), Neil McDonough (Minority Report, NBC's short lived Boomtown) in his second military role in the last month (you can also see him in The Guardian), and Mr. Personality (Paul Walker) in a low key turn as soldier Hank Hansen.

Flags of Our Fathers turned out to be quite a bit different than I thought it would be. It is patriotic and it is stunning to look at, but by spending only about twenty percent of the film in battlefield action, and the majority at home after the war, we don't get a true sense of what these men went through. I suppose Eastwood and Broyles Jr. felt that we've seen enough movies on the subject to know what they went through, but the end result makes the movie feel a little incomplete. Again though, it should be noted, that Eastwood is putting the finishing touches on Letters From Iwo Jima as I write this. I'll wait and pass final judgement once I've seen that. For the time being, Flags of Our Fathers is a solid effort from a legendary film maker who continues to take chances with each passing project.