The most you can expect by way of scene-setting here are occasional keen-eyed observations by Jesse Stone, the hero, of the women who cross his line of sight.

ECONOMIST: Character is what makes these thrillers

Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), an Army lifer with a shaved head and a jaw like a stone jetty, and Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a coiled, secretive Iraqi war hero, work together at what is surely the worst job in the armed forces: telling parents and spouses that a loved one has been killed in Iraq.

NEWYORKER: The Messenger