The Inspection Blu-ray review: Blu-rah

The Inspection was a remarkable movie that captured Marine boot camp in a subjective way that not only conveys hardship but the appeal of sticking it out. For a film about a gay recruit during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it makes a remarkable case for why he still wants to belong to a community that practices explicit homophobia. There are surely military horror stories but this is one in which superiors actually use Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to protect gay recruits.

Nearly eight minutes of deleted scenes on the Blu-ray showcase a few more aspects of basic training, from departing the bus to ironing uniforms and mail call. An alternate opening shows French (Jeremy Pope) getting a loving sendoff from his gay friends. 

In a behind-the-scenes feature, the cast talks about themes and specific scenes. It’s the commentary where writer/director Elegance Bratton goes into detail about his intimate autobiography. 

Bratton gets scene specific about which aspects of The Inspection were inspired by truth, and which represented his greatest fears depicted even though he was able to avoid them in real life. Bratton alludes to the real friendships he formed in the Marine though does not name anybody. He also discusses filmmaking and dealing with the actors.