The Inspection succeeds in the end because this powerful real-life character study is firmly rooted in reality.

It’s Ellis’s story and [Jeremy Pope] keeps you on his side all the way with a performance so direct, intuitive -- and restrained -- that you feel as if he’s letting you in on his every thought.

Fiercely candid, in its condemnation of the brutality that is enmeshed in the training programme, and in its celebration of the bonds and brotherhood that grow between fellow cadets.

Bratton's film makes the argument that, amidst the brutality of war (and in training for it), strength can also be found in and built upon vulnerability and empathy.