Rating: 
Summary: Great War Movie
Review: This is a great rendition of the beginning of the Vietnam War. Mel Gibson does an excellent job as the the leader of the troops that fight in the battle at the start of the Vietnam War. There are some gory parts...it has scenes where Napalm is used and you kind of get the idea of how bad that stuff really was/is. The movie is based on a true story and I think that it gives a good idea of how some of the fighting in Vietnam took place. I gained appreciation of how terrible the war was and how the lack of support from the U.S. people would put soldiers lives at risk. It also depicts the women who are left at home to worry about their soldier husbands...and is very heartbreaking at times. I recommend it for viewers who like this type of movie. I am not a big war buff, so as far as realism, I am not sure where this movie would rank.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A wonderful movie showing not only the raw emotion on the frontline. But what happened to the wives and families of the soldiers. And what there hell was like. Everyone after seeing this movie should appreciate an American Soldier more and ask forgiveness of a vistnam vet for the way our country treated them during that time.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Fantastic storytelling! Fantastic filmwork! Fantastic acting!This is a terrific film. It moved me to great emotion. One aspect worth appreciation in this film is the positive portrayal of American soldiers. So many other Vietnam war movies ask us to believe that "all" of our men were using drugs, defiling every living female, and murdering officers. Although these things happened, I would like to believe that American fighting men were and are honorable. This film will go down as one of the great war stories of our time.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe the most realistic portrayal of battle in Viet Nam
Review: This may not be the best Viet Nam movie ever made, but according to my dad (who served in 1968 in the DMZ with the Air Cav) this is the most realistic portrayal of combat against regular troops in a set-piece battle. However, I would urge anyone truly interested to read Hal Moore's book first. There is just so much going on in this movie, that having read the book first I found it easier to follow the action in the movie, which covers approximately the first half of the book. This is a story about the first major engagement of US forces against a superior force of NVA regular troops in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. Ultimately, the Air Cav were successful in repelling the attack, and inflicted heavy casualties, but at great cost. Great acting and gritty realism make this a compelling movie.
Rating:
Summary: Just The Best
Review: This is absolutely the best movie ever made covering the Vietnam War era. The acting was superb. The visuals and sound made you feel you were in the center of all activity. This movie now belongs in my personal DVD library.
Rating:
Summary: Mel Gibson Does Not Disappoint
Review: I have yet to see Mel Gibson in a bad movie and Sam Elliott as Sergeant Major Plumley was absolutly wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Vietnam Now
Review: It is difficult to see what one could add to the reviews of over 200 others on Amazon. Let me say that the DVD in particular, with the additional comments, puts this motion picture in the top 10 of all time. It shows the early days of the Vietnam War from many perspectives, officers, soldiers, girlfriends, wives, and the man who wrote the book upon which the movie is based. I wouldn't dare compare the two. Suffice it to say, this film WILL change your mind about Vietnam, whether you were for, against, or neutral. Also, given the actor and actresses involved, this movie could NOT have been made even 10 years ago--and we're the better for it. For example, we BELIEVE that Mel Gibson is a devout religious and family man, and this adds to his portrayal. We BELIEVE in Madeleine Stowe's portrayal as wife and mother, and she brings great conviction to the part. For veteran and nonveteran alike, and for all those under 45s who really didn't know what the threat of being drafted for this "police action" was all about, and how it altered the lives of those senior to you, I recommend this film, highly, without hesitation, and strongly.
Rating: 
Summary: manipulative cheesey and boring
Review: this is a complete mess, so much time is spent trying to manipulate your feelings that evrything else falls by the wayside, i was so borde by the end, i couldnt care less what was in the sepcial features.
the first part of the film contains about 4 praying scenes alone, ok, mel is supposed to be mr nice guy, we really dont need all the emotional guff with his wife and kids, hopefully once the action starts itll improve we think, unfortunately not.
the battle which is the grist of the film is confused and very badly done, the music, which sounds like something which should have been in braveheart, is so out of place, weve seen platoon, and they got it right.
are there any characters here other than mel, there dont seem to be, what a confused mess, it looks more like the battles are taking place in canada than south east asia.
cutting from the middle of the battle scene for another manipulative wifes delivering death notices was so badly done, and pointless.
yet another ego vehicle for mel gibson, or should that be john wayne.
Rating:
Summary: Makes one feel guilty.
Review: This movie was horrible,don't get me wrong i like my war films, and I am not the son of the devil, I found The Thin Red Line horrific, but this film had me in stitches, I was laughing so much and this made me feel very guilty. You know when someone is going to die, because something good has just happened to them. This film tries at one point to show the story not just from the americans side, but our hero from the other side runs along in dramatic slow motion only to have his head blown off. Mel Gibson just seemed to be his usual self, with no emotion this time, I didn't care what happened to these characters which since it is a true story made me feel more guilty. Watch Black Hawk Down, there's a very emotional war film.
Rating: 
Summary: first war movie for women
Review: ...I call WE WERE SOLDIERS 'the first war movie for women' because it strikes me that the producers decided, in order to make this into a 'date ... they'd throw in (amongst torsos torn in half and heads exploding ...lots of fretting wives and crying soldiers. ... ... although the first part of the lengthy Ia Drang Battle ... might be twisted into looking like a win for the Air Cav.; the second part (in which whole platoons were desimated in an ambush) would have been a bit more prophetic and accurate in terms of the eventual outcome of the war; and like "Gollipoli", would have more accurately portrayed the senselessness and slaughter of battle. ... Alas, in the end we won that war anyway despite all the melodrama about it being our first loss (everyone having forgotten Korea--ouch!). Military loss? Yes, maybe (though if you judge by sheer slaughter we should have come home with the gold). ... And what's with this film's showing how noble the enemy is? ... I'm also seriously concerned with the fighting man being portrayed as just a regular middle class joe leaving the house in the morning to take the bus to the war (a clever, if manipulative scene, I admit). First off, as we all know, it was our urban and rural poor who fought that war not guys from tidy suburbs.
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