NO GREATER LOVE (2017)
An intense, heartbreaking, inspiring portrait of soldiers and sacrifice.
Should You Watch It?
If you want to understand what soldiers carry home from war, this documentary is worth your attention. It is thoroughly captivating, combining actual battlefield footage with informative interviews and deeply moving stories from soldiers, Gold Star family members, and a Christian chaplain.
The film is also difficult. Battle footage is intense. Strong profanity occurs, and discussions of combat deaths, suicide, PTSD, and traumatic injuries may disturb some viewers. Yet the documentary also shows surviving soldiers coming together to help one another overcome the lasting residue of war. Its Christian love, patriotism, and plea to help veterans give the heartbreak a redemptive purpose.
Take the trip if you are a discerning adult or mature teenager prepared for its content; do not choose it for children or young teens.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESThrough the eyes of U.S. Army Chaplain Justin Roberts, this documentary follows the “No Slack” battalion of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan and after its soldiers return home.
The film combines battlefield footage, commentary, and interviews as the soldiers recount combat, the loss of brothers in arms, and the physical, mental, and emotional struggles of coming home. It also makes a plea for citizens to help veterans help one another.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an exceptionally strong documentary. The battlefield footage is intense, while the interviews with the soldiers are informative, stirring, and heartbreaking. Their personal insights give the film unusual emotional force.
Justin D. Roberts does a brilliant job filming the battlefield, interviewing the soldiers, and putting the movie together. The documentary is dramatic, compelling, and redemptive. Its many painful moments are balanced by powerful moments of victory, especially as surviving soldiers come together to help one another.
The Worldview
NO GREATER LOVE presents a strongly Christian, moral, and patriotic view of American veterans fighting in Afghanistan and returning home. It honors America, families, courage in fighting evil, and the responsibility to help one another. Prayer, church, positive references to God, and battlefield miracles are part of that vision.
The film’s deepest emphasis is sacrificial love. Soldiers face danger for their brothers in arms, and surviving soldiers work together through the lasting effects of war. The documentary connects that love directly to Jesus’ words: “No one has greater love than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
This emphasis aligns closely with Scripture’s call to love sacrificially and care for people who are suffering. It also gives viewers a practical challenge: helping veterans is one way citizens can embody love for their neighbors.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong Christian, moral, patriotic worldview about American veterans fighting in the toughest area of Afghanistan and coming home, after their tours of duty extols America, families, fighting evil, and helping one another and includes prayer, references to church, references to John 15:13, positive references to God, and several references to miracles on the battlefield; 12 obscenities (six “f” words), one GD obscenity in the heat of battle, and four light profanities; sometimes strong, intense violence includes lots of gunfire, American soldiers shoot back at enemy, an explosion occurs, brief references to a rocket propelled grenade cutting a man in half, and another one hitting someone in the head, brief images of a slightly bloody post-op head wound, discussion about suicide, man’s scarred bare back is shown, obscured images of wounded soldiers, discussion of other combat injuries and deaths; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol use; a soldier smokes in one scene; and, talk about PTSD and traumatic incidents might disturb some viewers.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The soldiers help one another carry the residue of war. What might loving your neighbor look like when someone is suffering in a way you cannot fully understand?
John 15:13 · Galatians 6:2The film connects military sacrifice with Jesus’ words about laying down one’s life for friends. How does Christ’s sacrifice deepen or change your understanding of courage?
John 15:13 · 1 John 3:16The documentary asks citizens to help veterans. What responsibilities do Christians have toward people who return from hardship or danger?
Galatians 6:2 · Hebrews 13:3Some soldiers describe battlefield events as miracles. How should we respond when we see God’s protection, suffering, or unanswered questions?
Psalm 46:1 · Romans 8:28The Final Word
NO GREATER LOVE is powerful filmmaking with a serious Christian purpose. Its combat footage, profanity, and traumatic subjects make it unsuitable for children and young teens, but discerning adults and mature teenagers may find its testimony deeply moving. For them, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For family-friendly alternatives, see.
