Rating: 
Summary: Art imitates life or the other way around?
Review: Another Gene Hackman masterpiece....what if?........We sent a private military unit back into Laos or Vietnam to rescue our abandoned servicemen? The film concludes rightly that our own government would get in the way, and then there would be the Vietnamese or the Laotians...after a battle scene at a asian rice paddy with burning helicopters...the first few moments of the film shows the futility to getting accurate intelligence, but once he gets it, Hackman's character acts on it. He goes to his son's team mates who made it out of the LZ that they left him at years ago...don't get wrapped over the axle like some vets do that its unrealistic that we would leave someone in this way, we wouldn't. The beginning is a METAPHOR--a symbol of what America did in a larger sense when she refused to fight and lose more men to return the men we left behind. Real Soldiers wouldn't leave a buddy if it meant themselves getting killed, our government's leaders/bureaucrats-for-life don't feel this way. If you realize the Soldiers are running and they can't see who is shooting at them you'll realize its a metaphor. There is a Ross Perot type fellow who comes in and funds the rescue team's training and they go into action. In country they lose all their weapons/equipment and are forced to improvise with WWII/Korean-era arms bought on the black market. Fortunately Hackman's Colonel is an old Korean war vet and he mentors them and soon they are on approach march to the POW camp, they split up and Team A assaults the camp while team B steals helicopters to get away. The battle scenes are realistic in that the need to aim with marksmanship skills is portrayed in lieu of the normal Hollywood garden-hose depiction of weapons. However, as good as the vets are in their fieldcraft, the odds are stacked against them and not everyone returns from the mission, but one American POW is rescued and though its not his son, Hackman's wife reunite under a flood of media lights to confront the liars in our government who said there were no POWs left behind. Its been over 17 years now since this film came out and we are no longer talking about our POW/MIAs; perhaps we should re-watch this film? The point of this film is a reality check: IF we sent military force into Southeast Asia we would find our men being held captive. That's the message of this film, now what are we going to do about it now? If our country had honor we would have the valor to send the Vietnamese an ultimatum: send back our living POWs within x amount of time or we will declare war on you, not "normalizing" relations because we are scared of having to fight the Red Chinese and want Vietnam to be our counter to their drive for control of the Pacific.
Rating:
Summary: My all time favorite Vietnam movie
Review: As a student in the 60's I was confused about Vietnam and never discovered the truth about the brave job our soldiers did (even without the real backing of the country--or the government!) till later. Since then I am very grateful for all that was sacrificed in the War. It took several years before I could bring myself to visit the Wall (in DC) and then i could hardly see it thru my tears. This is, in my humble opinion, THE BEST movie about Vietnam. Hackman has long been a favorite and his performance in this movie is spectacular!!
Rating:
Summary: Screw Chuck Norris, this is an awesome MIA rescue!
Review: Chuck, I know you mean well, but you can't act! This moviw is much more better than MISSING IN ACTION. it has a good cast, great acting, and also a very good plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Above and Beyond most other Vietnam movies
Review: Colonel Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman), US Army (ret) is the last of a long line of dedicated, if doomed, military officers. Haunted by visions that his son, a Vietnam War MIA, might still be alive in some camp in SE Asia, and with the backing of a Perot-ish entrepreneur (Robert Stack), he assembles a motley crew of former special forces officers for an ad-hoc search-and-rescue mission into Laos. The vets, who've settled into civilian life (all walks) are reluctant, but Hackman manages to sell them - we lost, and in America, that's like going bankrupt, he tells them. That's unacceptable (this movie came out, what, 1985?) The film has two phases, preparing the vets for their return to combat readiness, and the final mission itself. I didn't want to see this flick when it came out, thinking it would be some screed right out of Soldier of Fortune, with Hollywood trying to bring its make-believe to a war that didn't want it. Instead, "Uncommon Valor" excels - mostly because it eschews most of what would soon become normal for the Rambo movies. The troops here aren't cold-calculating super-warriors who speak in hushed-Sly Stallone tones, and the Vietnamese aren't sidekicks who speak pidgin. Instead, the vets are rusty and reluctant. As Sailor, Randal "Tex" Cobb (who appears barechested thruought, wears a hand grenade and sleeps through Co. Rhodes' chinese firedrills) plays the least adjusted, and most combat ready of the vets, and it isn't clear how much he's there for comic relief or just there to remind how many vets hadn't readjusted to civilian life. His opposite is Pat Swayze, an ex-marine (4th Recon Division, Rhodes tells us) who was too young to have served, but has his own reasons for having to go. Also on board are Fred Ward, and Reb Brown - the latter playing a prodigy on the subject of mines and other explosives who doesn't let the incendiary nature of his craft keep him from bringing a Mr. Rogers bent to the show. ("Today boys and girls...") Though quickly getting up to speed, they remain rusty through the film, unsure of themselves and completely mortal. When the CIA intercepts the crew (the vanguard for the complacent politicians who lost no sons or brothers to the war) and seizes their weapons, the vets must go on with 2nd hand guns - cast-offs from earlier wars, and face a war that they've never really left. The action scenes are sketched well and keep away from being exploitative, while the script manages to verge from serious to light when it matters, and never panders to any jingoism. This is not a Rambo movie. This is not about stamping "victory" where history shows defeat - but rather about grown men facing the consequences of their defeat when their nation would rather they just forget about it.
Rating:
Summary: Above and Beyond most other Vietnam movies
Review: Colonel Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman), US Army (ret) is the last of a long line of dedicated, if doomed, military officers. Haunted by visions that his son, a Vietnam War MIA, might still be alive in some camp in SE Asia, and with the backing of a Perot-ish entrepreneur (Robert Stack), he assembles a motley crew of former special forces officers for an ad-hoc search-and-rescue mission into Laos. The vets, who've settled into civilian life (all walks) are reluctant, but Hackman manages to sell them - we lost, and in America, that's like going bankrupt, he tells them. That's unacceptable (this movie came out, what, 1985?) The film has two phases, preparing the vets for their return to combat readiness, and the final mission itself. I didn't want to see this flick when it came out, thinking it would be some screed right out of Soldier of Fortune, with Hollywood trying to bring its make-believe to a war that didn't want it. Instead, "Uncommon Valor" excels - mostly because it eschews most of what would soon become normal for the Rambo movies. The troops here aren't cold-calculating super-warriors who speak in hushed-Sly Stallone tones, and the Vietnamese aren't sidekicks who speak pidgin. Instead, the vets are rusty and reluctant. As Sailor, Randal "Tex" Cobb (who appears barechested thruought, wears a hand grenade and sleeps through Co. Rhodes' chinese firedrills) plays the least adjusted, and most combat ready of the vets, and it isn't clear how much he's there for comic relief or just there to remind how many vets hadn't readjusted to civilian life. His opposite is Pat Swayze, an ex-marine (4th Recon Division, Rhodes tells us) who was too young to have served, but has his own reasons for having to go. Also on board are Fred Ward, and Reb Brown - the latter playing a prodigy on the subject of mines and other explosives who doesn't let the incendiary nature of his craft keep him from bringing a Mr. Rogers bent to the show. ("Today boys and girls...") Though quickly getting up to speed, they remain rusty through the film, unsure of themselves and completely mortal. When the CIA intercepts the crew (the vanguard for the complacent politicians who lost no sons or brothers to the war) and seizes their weapons, the vets must go on with 2nd hand guns - cast-offs from earlier wars, and face a war that they've never really left. The action scenes are sketched well and keep away from being exploitative, while the script manages to verge from serious to light when it matters, and never panders to any jingoism. This is not a Rambo movie. This is not about stamping "victory" where history shows defeat - but rather about grown men facing the consequences of their defeat when their nation would rather they just forget about it.
Rating:
Summary: A tribute worthy of the brave men who served
Review: First off what can be more worthy of respect then a group of veterans (now civilians) long past their physical prime putting their lives on the line for something as ethereal (in today's society) as a cause. And each of them has personal demons to fight which is engaging to view in its own right. Add to that the fact that they're a hodge podge of personalities. Throw in a young hot shot Devil Dog (Swayze) with alot of naive ideas but a powerful motive and Hackman as the man tasked with pulling off the impossible. There it is. What you end up with is a moving portrayal of the spirit and courage of those American heroes so unfairly derided despite whatever beliefs you may have about that particular war. Although the film is a little cliched and predictable in spots the final product is commendable, tragic, and heartfelt.
Rating: 
Summary: Mission MIA remade into a movie
Review: Galveston, Texas, is located within a region called the Coastal Plains, which extend from Florida and border the Gulf of Mexico all the way around to the Yucatan Peninsula. The region stretches inland for more than 60 miles at most points. The Coastal Plains are sandy, covered with stubby scub-oak, and are flatter than anything you can imagine -- level, flat, completely flat, ugly and relatively barren. So you can just imagine how Houston theater audiences reacted, about half an hour into this film, after a commando team has been assembled to train for a mission back to Nam... and we see a helicopter floating above a vista of beautiful, rugged, tree-covered low mountains divided by sparkling streams, with the onscreen caption "Somewhere Near Galveston, Texas."
Rating:
Summary: Attention to Detail
Review: Galveston, Texas, is located within a region called the Coastal Plains, which extend from Florida and border the Gulf of Mexico all the way around to the Yucatan Peninsula. The region stretches inland for more than 60 miles at most points. The Coastal Plains are sandy, covered with stubby scub-oak, and are flatter than anything you can imagine -- level, flat, completely flat, ugly and relatively barren. So you can just imagine how Houston theater audiences reacted, about half an hour into this film, after a commando team has been assembled to train for a mission back to Nam... and we see a helicopter floating above a vista of beautiful, rugged, tree-covered low mountains divided by sparkling streams, with the onscreen caption "Somewhere Near Galveston, Texas."
Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT FILM!!! ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES!!!
Review: I first saw this movie when I was young (about 10-11). I have seen it over 50 times since then. It is the type of movie you can watch over and over again. It brings out all of your emotions. Great cast, great acting, great story....You'll Love It!!!
Rating:
Summary: Uncommonly Good!
Review: I loved this one!It is so much better than those stupid Norris films!There is a great cast here that does a fine job(Hackman, Swayze, Stack, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Fred Ward,Reb Brown, Tim Thomerson, and Harold Sylvester).I almost wish they did a sequel, but this may not measure up. I saw this on the big screen when I was 14, and even then I was interested in learning more about the Vietnam War.This may not necessarily be a guidebook to what the war was like, but it certainly is a tribute to those that fought, got captured, and died in that war.Film is excellent and does not waste any time. Training scenes are best.One of the best parts is when the men learn that wanna be gung ho type Marine(discharged for striking an RTO who fell asleep!), who was not in Nam, wants to go save those men because his father was shot down in the war. Film is a fine production with good effects, and an effective use of location shooting. Interesting characterizations are conveyed to the audience rapidly as we learn a little about each man that is recruited by Hackman to go find the missing POWS(his son among them).I got teary-eyed at the end as survivor reveals to Hackman how his son died in the prison camp.If any American is not moved by this scene then you need about 20CCs of humanity.Highly recommended and important film.
|
