Bat 21

Rating:
Summary: BAT 21
Review: For a movie based on a true story, I found it be very fast paced with an excellent story line.

Danny Glover and Gene Hackman really clicked in this one.

Rating:
Summary: A fine war film, but not the best ever made.
Review: Gene Hackman is one of my favorite actors, he excells in this cat and mouse war film. Danny Glover is very good as well. Like I said, not the best war picture ever made though. BAT 21 is not as glitzy and primed-up as Hollywood tends to do to many movies. But this is a good thing, it makes the film more realistic. I love Jerry Reeds character, he is gritty and a hard-a$$, but yet does have a heart. I watched this movie at first without the knowledge that it was based on a true story. What a hell of a vacation, huh?

Rating:
Summary: Not an excellent VN war flick, but still one you should see
Review: High octane action and the perseverance of some of the leads elevate "Bat-21" to that higher level of Vietnam movie. Basically the story of how a high-level intelligence officer eludes capture after being shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam, "Bat-21" is relentless and never exploitative. Hackman is Iceal Hambleton, a USAF colonel who fights the war in Vietnam from the offices and golf courses of Saigon. Tasked to identify communist missile sites, he boldly (and unwisely) tags along on an EB-66, an unarmed electronic warfare bird loaded with intelligence equipment. The sole survivor after being shot down, Hambleton finds himself pursued by the enemy who apparently appreciate his value as a prisoner. While the enemy (was it the NVA or the Cong? I could never tell) is unable to find Hambleton, they prove more than capable of making life hell for the rescue choppers sent to rescue him - including the crew of a "Jolly Green" cut to pieces over an enemy-held village. While on the ground, Hambleton stays in contact with Bart Clark (Danny Glover), a USAF captain who flies spotter missions for more heavily armed bombers. (Clark flies FAC - from his slow-moving Cessna, he finds targets for the strike fighters, marking them with white-phosphorous rockets). Knowing that the enemy is monitoring them, Hambleton and Clark work out a code that posits the map of Vietnam as a big golf course. As rescue attempts become more dangerous, Clark finds himself drawn ever deeper into the rescue, climaxing in his going rogue when his superiors throw in the towel.

"Bat-21" isn't really a classic. There's plenty of thrilling action, and the script even manages to find room for irony (as when Clark pauses during a radio conversation with Hambleton while he zaps a few communist troops). Still, nothing really convincingly explains how Hackman manages to elude capture...by anybody (the script makes clear that he is definitely no Rambo). The film also breezes over the biggest irony - that Hackman's code is based on his smarts on the golf course rather than the battlefield. If the film excels over cheap action flicks, it's in the determination and exhaustion of its leads and persistent refusal to avoid Hollywood glory. Also, unless anybody knows of another film, this is the only one I've seen that captures the critical role played by Forward Air Controllers in both prosecuting the air war in Vietnam, and rescuing those airmen nearly lost.

Rating:
Summary: Not an excellent VN war flick, but still one you should see
Review: High octane action and the perseverance of some of the leads elevate "Bat-21" to that higher level of Vietnam movie. Basically the story of how a high-level intelligence officer eludes capture after being shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam, "Bat-21" is relentless and never exploitative. Hackman is Iceal Hambleton, a USAF colonel who fights the war in Vietnam from the offices and golf courses of Saigon. Tasked to identify communist missile sites, he boldly (and unwisely) tags along on an EB-66, an unarmed electronic warfare bird loaded with intelligence equipment. The sole survivor after being shot down, Hambleton finds himself pursued by the enemy who apparently appreciate his value as a prisoner. While the enemy (was it the NVA or the Cong? I could never tell) is unable to find Hambleton, they prove more than capable of making life hell for the rescue choppers sent to rescue him - including the crew of a "Jolly Green" cut to pieces over an enemy-held village. While on the ground, Hambleton stays in contact with Bart Clark (Danny Glover), a USAF captain who flies spotter missions for more heavily armed bombers. (Clark flies FAC - from his slow-moving Cessna, he finds targets for the strike fighters, marking them with white-phosphorous rockets). Knowing that the enemy is monitoring them, Hambleton and Clark work out a code that posits the map of Vietnam as a big golf course. As rescue attempts become more dangerous, Clark finds himself drawn ever deeper into the rescue, climaxing in his going rogue when his superiors throw in the towel.

"Bat-21" isn't really a classic. There's plenty of thrilling action, and the script even manages to find room for irony (as when Clark pauses during a radio conversation with Hambleton while he zaps a few communist troops). Still, nothing really convincingly explains how Hackman manages to elude capture...by anybody (the script makes clear that he is definitely no Rambo). The film also breezes over the biggest irony - that Hackman's code is based on his smarts on the golf course rather than the battlefield. If the film excels over cheap action flicks, it's in the determination and exhaustion of its leads and persistent refusal to avoid Hollywood glory. Also, unless anybody knows of another film, this is the only one I've seen that captures the critical role played by Forward Air Controllers in both prosecuting the air war in Vietnam, and rescuing those airmen nearly lost.

Rating:
Summary: Very good movie
Review: I have seen this movie several times and have always liked it very much. The movie rates with me as indicated because I have just recently had the HONOR of meeting Col. Hambleton in person. Of course when you meet the person that inspired this movie it makes it much more interesting.

I have ordered 3 of these VHS tapes for myself and two relatives that liked this movie of which I will have Autographed by the Col.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Story, Even Hollywood couldn't screw up
Review: Outstanding, true story, even Hollywood couldn't add any of their Bravo Sierra and screw this one up. Gene Hackman and Danny Glover are number 1 in this

Rating:
Summary: Great Gene Hackman Raises This Film to Minor Classic
Review: Perhaps, like me, you've come here after watching "Behind Enemy Lines" featuring Owen Wilson and, of course, Gene Hackman, who happens to star in this underrated film. Okay, the plot is almost the same as that action filck made with the technology of the year 2001, but, let me tell you, "BAT*21" gives its stress on a different matter than "Behind," and that is the characters played by the two leads.

As the film claims in the opening, the story about Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Hambleton whose airplane is shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam is based on truth. Now becoming "BAT*21," his code name, he has to rely on a radio by which he maintains a contact with a pilot Captain Bartholomew Clerk (Danny Glover), who instructs and encourages him to overcome all the barriers waiting for him on the ground. But Lieutenant Colonel has no previous combat experience in his career, and the time for massive air raid that is certain to kill him is coming closer.

Frankly, some of the scenes are too incredible (especially when Captain tries to fly the helicopter, which he has not done for a long time). And you cannot expect the high-octaine action sequences, because the film's real focus is set in other places; that is, the bond between the two leading characters, which develops gradually through the unreliable radio contact. Precisely this human part is the greatest asset of "BAT*21" of which quality is raised by the extremely superb acting by Gene Hackman. He is, as usual with any first-rate actor you name, the real energy with his depiction of toughness and frailty, and his powerhouse performance lifts this sometimes clithed film to the above-average level among many other ones about this war.

Rating:
Summary: Great Gene Hackman Raises This Film to Minor Classic
Review: Perhaps, like me, you've come here after watching "Behind Enemy Lines" featuring Owen Wilson and, of course, Gene Hackman, who happens to star in this underrated film. Okay, the plot is almost the same as that action filck made with the technology of the year 2001, but, let me tell you, "BAT*21" gives its stress on a different matter than "Behind," and that is the characters played by the two leads.

As the film claims in the opening, the story about Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Hambleton whose airplane is shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam is based on truth. Now becoming "BAT*21," his code name, he has to rely on a radio by which he maintains a contact with a pilot Captain Bartholomew Clerk (Danny Glover), who instructs and encourages him to overcome all the barriers waiting for him on the ground. But Lieutenant Colonel has no previous combat experience in his career, and the time for massive air raid that is certain to kill him is coming closer.

Frankly, some of the scenes are too incredible (especially when Captain tries to fly the helicopter, which he has not done for a long time). And you cannot expect the high-octaine action sequences, because the film's real focus is set in other places; that is, the bond between the two leading characters, which develops gradually through the unreliable radio contact. Precisely this human part is the greatest asset of "BAT*21" of which quality is raised by the extremely superb acting by Gene Hackman. He is, as usual with any first-rate actor you name, the real energy with his depiction of toughness and frailty, and his powerhouse performance lifts this sometimes clithed film to the above-average level among many other ones about this war.

Rating:
Summary: Bat-21
Review: This film encompases the realism a Vietnam Veteran wants in a film centered on/in that war. the films actors dedication to self portrayals of those who were there while fighting against all odds for those in need and under fire is accurate. Danny Glover portrays the honest truth of character that most men had within themselves while there. I remembered my own dedication to my country and its best beliefs while watching the film. Thank you Danny for a wonderful portrayal.

Rating:
Summary: Bat-21
Review: This film encompases the realism a Vietnam Veteran wants in a film centered on/in that war. the films actors dedication to self portrayals of those who were there while fighting against all odds for those in need and under fire is accurate. Danny Glover portrays the honest truth of character that most men had within themselves while there. I remembered my own dedication to my country and its best beliefs while watching the film. Thank you Danny for a wonderful portrayal.