We Were Soldiers

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshingly Uncommon War Movie
Review:
We Were Soldiers is a compelling war movie seen from multiple perspectives. It is a refreshingly uncommon war movie. The movie disapproves of war. However, acknowledging that war does exist, this movie celebrates the heroism that can be found in it.

We Were Soldiers not only gives us a look at the soldiers whose side we're on, but the enemy soldiers as well. It shows that these are people too; they have girlfriends, wives, sons and daughters, just as `our guys' do. The movie also shows us very accurately how war can affect these people who have relationships with the soldiers.

We Were Soldiers takes place in 1965; America has just entered the Vietnam War. The movie is centered on the 7th Air Cavalry unit. This new form of cavalry rides into battle not on horses, but in helicopters. The movie focuses on the soldiers, their relationships with one another and their relationships with their families.

The combination of realistic characters, a dramatic script and a heart-rending story may make viewers' emotions run high. The movie was much more than gunfights and special effects. Relationships were explored, and emotion was evident in each character, not always being expressed, but you could see it lying just under the surface. It would be difficult to see the film in its entirety without tearing up.

Inspiring acts of heroism are celebrated throughout the movie. Selfless acts of bravery were apparent throughout the film. People had to make sacrifices, and they were rarely for their own benefit. These acts were also ironic in that many men died for the dead.

A huge slice at the beginning of the movie is used to get the audience familiar to the soldiers in the 7th Air Cavalry. You get to know their families and their daily lives. This is especially the case with young Lt. Jack Geoghegan (Chris Klein) whose wife is due with a baby. Klein played a much more sophisticated character in Geoghegan than he is used to (2001's American Pie 2, 2002's Rollerball). Despite this, I think he did a commendable job.

Getting familiar with the soldiers only serves to make the deaths of the soldiers hit us harder. The deaths of the soldiers hurt us more when we find out news of their death is sent from Vietnam via telegrams. It falls to Moore's wife to deliver these telegrams to the various families of the deceased, and we see these epitaphs in all their misery. These poignant scenes show us the full extent of the tragedy of death. They also force the viewers to ask some questions about war that one doesn't always keep in mind. Is it really worth it? In war you need to know that the forces that made the war occur tried to do everything they could to prevent it from happening. War needs to be a last resort. This is clear from the outright pain and grief it causes other human beings.

The beginning also creates a sense of foreboding. The first scene of the movie is of a French troupe of soldiers being massacred in the la Drang Valley. This is the same valley in which the battle between Moore's troops and the Vietnamese was fought. Also, the name of Moore's troops, the 7th cavalry, is identical to that of the fabled General Custer. Custer was a successful commander like Moore himself until his entire unit was massacred. Foreshadowing perhaps?

Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) is an accomplished commander that is appointed as the leader of this unit. Mel Gibson (1995's Braveheart, 2000's What Women Want) delivers a stunning performance as Moore, the loyal leader who commands the 7th Air Cavalry. Gibson is familiar with the role of a courageous, inspiring leader (Braveheart, The Patriot). Therefore, playing Moore probably wasn't a challenge for Gibson. However, I can forgive him because he played the part flawlessly. The character Gibson plays is both concerned about and dedicated to the troops he leads. On the eve of the cavalry's departure to Vietnam, Moore proclaims, "When we go into battle, I will be the first to step on the field and I will be the last to step off." Soon, the unit is called into battle and they travel to Vietnam, to a world of war, violence, and destruction.

We Were Soldiers is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once... and Young written by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. Randall Wallace, who directed it, also wrote the screenplay. Wallace also wrote 1995's Braveheart, 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, and 2001's Pearl Harbor. Wallace and Gibson have paired up before, and in Braveheart, the two were extremely successful together. Wallace is obviously no newcomer to screenwriting and did a nice job converting the book into a form suitable for film. He also does a good job directing the film. He had previously directed 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, so this was not his first movie. Violent war movies can be a tricky and nauseating experience if the battle scenes aren't filmed with expertise. The war scenes in the film were organized and clear, however they didn't fail to portray the reality of a real life gun battle. Specifically the scene with the "hot LZ" was particularly well done. Somehow Randall gave us a clear picture of the mayhem that was there along with showing us coherent shots that left us with no questions as to what was occurring.

Although We Were Soldiers might at times be graphic and at others emotionally tough, there is some comic relief. Sgt. Maj. Plumley (Sam Elliott) is Colonel Moore's strict second-in-command. Elliot is an experienced actor who has been on the scene since the late 60's (1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1998's The Big Lewbowski). However, I think Plumley posed a fun and fresh character for Elliot, and he played it to perfection. Elliot's experience was an invaluable asset to the film. Plumley's demeanor alone was always enough to give me a hearty chuckle. I found myself repeating one of Plumley's lines on multiple occasions, one that involves a fellow soldiers comment on the weather.

We Were Soldiers is rated R, and for good reason. Many of the gunfights in the la Drang valley and instances with napalm at the end of the movie are hard to stomach. However, it is my belief that you need to show the world what war really is, how horrific and gruesome it can get. Powdering war up like a geisha is as good as lying to someone. We Were Soldiers is the real deal; it gives us the impact of war and the reality of it in its entirety. People should see this movie, as it not only entertaining and captivating, but will also develop your understanding of war. And in this, world, we desperately need this understanding. Especially in the one we live in today.


Rating:
Summary: A riveting portrayal of first battle between US and NVA
Review: Based on Col. Hal Moore and Joe Gallaghers book, this film does an outstanding job of depicting real events that took place in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley in 1965. This is not your typical Vietnam movie with 60's rock music in the background. This battle took place as a test of new air cavalry tactics and the men who led , fought and died there are honored by the realism and tone of the movie. Col. Moore and other participants in the real battle served as advisors to the film and it shows.

The film also deals with the wives and families left behind in a very sympathetic manner.

The acting is top-notch across the board. Sam Elliott is incredible as the grizzled veteran Sgt. Major who serves as right hand to Gibson's Hal Moore.

The dvd is excellent with a special feature on the making of the film that is very interesting to view in it's own right titled "getting it right"

Overall this is a different kind of Vietnam film that shows troops of both sides in a human light that doesn't glorify battle and yet honors those that were there.


Rating:
Summary: All I can say is....
Review: ....here's another movie used by Mel Gisbson to show the world what a devoted Cathiloc he is.

Rating:
Summary: War Flick With a New Spin
Review: We Were Soldiers is a refreshingly uncommon war movie. The movie disapproves of war. However, acknowledging that war does exist, this movie celebrates the heroism that can be found in it.

We Were Soldiers not only gives us a look at the soldiers whose side we're on, but the enemy soldiers as well. It shows that these are people too; they have girlfriends, wives, sons and daughters, just as `our guys' do. The movie also shows us very accurately how war can affect these people who have relationships with the soldiers.

We Were Soldiers takes place in 1965; America has just entered the Vietnam War. The movie is centered on the 7th Air Cavalry unit. This new form of cavalry rides into battle not on horses, but in helicopters. The movie focuses on the soldiers, their relationships with one another and their relationships with their families.

The combination of realistic characters, a dramatic script and a heart-rending story may make viewers' emotions run high. The movie was much more than gunfights and special effects. Relationships were explored, and emotion was evident in each character, not always being expressed, but you could see it lying just under the surface. It would be difficult to see the film in its entirety without tearing up.

Inspiring acts of heroism are celebrated throughout the movie. Selfless acts of bravery were apparent throughout the film. People had to make sacrifices, and they were rarely for their own benefit. These acts were also ironic in that many men died for the dead.

A huge slice at the beginning of the movie is used to get the audience familiar to the soldiers in the 7th Air Cavalry. You get to know their families and their daily lives. This is especially the case with young Lt. Jack Geoghegan (Chris Klein) whose wife is due with a baby. Klein played a much more sophisticated character in Geoghegan than he is used to (2001's American Pie 2, 2002's Rollerball). Despite this, I think he did a commendable job.

Getting familiar with the soldiers only serves to make the deaths of the soldiers hit us harder. The deaths of the soldiers hurt us more when we find out news of their death is sent from Vietnam via telegrams. It falls to Moore's wife to deliver these telegrams to the various families of the deceased, and we see these epitaphs in all their misery. These poignant scenes show us the full extent of the tragedy of death. They also force the viewers to ask some questions about war that one doesn't always keep in mind. Is it really worth it? In war you need to know that the forces that made the war occur tried to do everything they could to prevent it from happening. War needs to be a last resort. This is clear from the outright pain and grief it causes other human beings.

The beginning also creates a sense of foreboding. The first scene of the movie is of a French troupe of soldiers being massacred in the la Drang Valley. This is the same valley in which the battle between Moore's troops and the Vietnamese was fought. Also, the name of Moore's troops, the 7th cavalry, is identical to that of the fabled General Custer. Custer was a successful commander like Moore himself until his entire unit was massacred. Foreshadowing perhaps?

Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) is an accomplished commander that is appointed as the leader of this unit. Mel Gibson (1995's Braveheart, 2000's What Women Want) delivers a stunning performance as Moore, the loyal leader who commands the 7th Air Cavalry. Gibson is familiar with the role of a courageous, inspiring leader (Braveheart, The Patriot). Therefore, playing Moore probably wasn't a challenge for Gibson. However, I can forgive him because he played the part flawlessly. The character Gibson plays is both concerned about and dedicated to the troops he leads. On the eve of the cavalry's departure to Vietnam, Moore proclaims, "When we go into battle, I will be the first to step on the field and I will be the last to step off." Soon, the unit is called into battle and they travel to Vietnam, to a world of war, violence, and destruction.

We Were Soldiers is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once... and Young written by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. Randall Wallace, who directed it, also wrote the screenplay. Wallace also wrote 1995's Braveheart, 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, and 2001's Pearl Harbor. Wallace and Gibson have paired up before, and in Braveheart, the two were extremely successful together. Wallace is obviously no newcomer to screenwriting and did a nice job converting the book into a form suitable for film. He also does a good job directing the film. He had previously directed 1998's The Man in the Iron Mask, so this was not his first movie. Violent war movies can be a tricky and nauseating experience if the battle scenes aren't filmed with expertise. The war scenes in the film were organized and clear, however they didn't fail to portray the reality of a real life gun battle. Specifically the scene with the "hot LZ" was particularly well done. Somehow Randall gave us a clear picture of the mayhem that was there along with showing us coherent shots that left us with no questions as to what was occurring.

Although We Were Soldiers might at times be graphic and at others emotionally tough, there is some comic relief. Sgt. Maj. Plumley (Sam Elliott) is Colonel Moore's strict second-in-command. Elliot is an experienced actor who has been on the scene since the late 60's (1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1998's The Big Lewbowski). However, I think Plumley posed a fun and fresh character for Elliot, and he played it to perfection. Elliot's experience was an invaluable asset to the film. Plumley's demeanor alone was always enough to give me a hearty chuckle. I found myself repeating one of Plumley's lines on multiple occasions, one that involves a fellow soldiers comment on the weather.

We Were Soldiers is rated R, and for good reason. Many of the gunfights in the la Drang valley and instances with napalm at the end of the movie are hard to stomach. However, it is my belief that you need to show the world what war really is, how horrific and gruesome it can get. Powdering war up like a geisha is as good as lying to someone. We Were Soldiers is the real deal; it gives us the impact of war and the reality of it in its entirety. People should see this movie, as it not only entertaining and captivating, but will also develop your understanding of war. And in this, world, we desperately need this understanding. Especially in the one we live in today.



Rating:
Summary: And I somehow was the last to see the film...
Review: I consider myself a history buff, especially war history, yet somehow this movie just slipped past me. So when I did see it I didn't really think it would live up to all the hype I heard, but I was wrong.

This movie is one of the best war movies I've seen. Based on true events, and strictly so, this movie covers the first major US battle in Vietnam. It took place in November 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley. The action grips us but the story itself lulls us more.

Now I personally am one to feel that the Vietnam War was a bad idea, yet I can see the true austerity that was presented by the film. This movie shows that Vietnam was no picnic; that's just a given. This film does not, however, glorify dying. just as much as it doesn't glorify the entire war. Instead it focuses on the tenacity and strength of a few individuals and their efforts to quell a seemingly, and eventually so, overwhelming army.

On that note, I believe that the film deserves five stars for it's beautiful yet tear-jerking portrayal. War is hell, and these people lived it.

Rating:
Summary: Know your history... an explanatory review
Review: It is sadly clear that many of the negative reviews of this film are based on a lack of understanding of the history of the Vietnam War. While this film does have its defects, it is correct in most of the particulars of the battle, and furthermore is fairly accurate concerning the qualities of the U.S. soldiers that fought in the Ia Drang valley in 1965.

The Army in 1965 was very different from the Army in 1968 or 1972. The level of training of the troops was better, and their attitude towards the war was much more optimistic. This reflected the public attitudes towards the Vietnam War in the United States in 1965, which were overwhelmingly pro-war. The disillusionment with the war, the vehement anti-war protests, the discrediting of the Johnson administration, and the gradual decay of the Army's morale and combat ability were IN THE FUTURE. The 1st Cavalry Division was a well-trained and well-disciplined unit, and while it contained plenty of draftees, their attitudes were generally very different than they were later in the war. Remember that the public supported the war at this time, and their attitudes reflected the public attitudes. Likewise, the problems with indiscipline, drug use, ticket-punching officers and the soldiers that fragged them, and so forth, DID NOT YET EXIST.

Most Vietnam War movies told the story of the latter parts of the war, when the public had turned against the war in general, and to a large extent against the military itself. Drafting people into a war that was increasingly unpopular naturally lead to a decline in the fighting ability, discipline and morale of the military itself, with consequences that were sadly predictable. This, however, was a different time, something that has to be understood as a historical fact when judging this film.

With this in mind, We Were Soldiers was not idealizing the attitudes of the people involved in the battle; it was simply a snapshot in time of a hard-fought battle that started (in the American mind, anyway) a war that was not yet considered unjust, being fought by an Army that was still held in high regard by the public at large... and maybe more importantly, by itself. In this context, it is clear why many criticisms of this film are rather stupid, to put it mildly.

Thus, We Were Soldiers is quite historically accurate. The soldiers were largely as they were portrayed in the film, and the battle largely unfolded as described in the movie. The combat is depicted, rightly, as an awful and gruesome experience. The behavior of the people involved is rather sentimental, but in truth soldiers who are bleeding to death tend to express simple sentiments, such as, "tell my wife I love her," or "tell my parents I done good." The supremely cynical sort may scoff at this, but they do so in the comfort of a sissified lifestyle, and thus have no basis to judge that sort of thing. Those who read the book, instead of simply talking out of their behinds, will recognize that some of the most seemingly absurd events are, in fact, true. That would, however, require INFORMED criticism, instead of simply speaking from simplistic prejudices.

Having said all that, this film is not without its shortcomings. It focuses excessive attention on the wives back at home, who ARE glorified to a rather silly degree. Based on my experience in the military, a large proportion of the wives and girlfriends left behind were cheating on the deployed soldiers, or emptying out their bank accounts... a sad fact of life. More significantly, I found these sequences to be rather boring, and served more as a distraction than as amplification. The contrast with Black Hawk Down is significant. In that film, director Ridley Scott did not give the audience a break at all; he simply showed the events largely as they unfolded in as direct and (accurately) brutal manner as possible. I think it was a better, if less conventional, film for taking that course of action.

As a side note, those calling Black Hawk Down jingoistic must be utterly insane. It is in many ways the most anti-war movie you will see, simply because it does the best job of showing how awful the actual combat was, and how futile the battle turned out to be for everyone involved. I think some people won't be satisfied with a movie about the U.S. Army unless it consists entirely of soldiers eating babies alive.

For the grown-ups out there, for the most part this is realistic movie for the period it is supposed to represent, and covers a portion of the Vietnam War largely ignored by Hollywood. It is not the best war movie made, but is of high quality overall and worth watching.


Rating:
Summary: Hollywood Finally Got It Right...
Review: After reading many of the negative reviews complaining that this movie was not a political crusade and did not make the veterans out to be criminals or druggies, I had to write this review.

This film is based on the book, "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young" by then Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and reporter Joe Galloway. The book is about the first major battle in the Vietnam war in November 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. Colonel Moore, commanded a battalion of troops who were sent to "find the enemy." Little did they know that they were dropped into the middle of a base camp for an entire Vietnamese Army Division. At the end of the battle, Moore's men won the battle despite the fact that they were ridiculously outnumbered.

Through their own memories and extensive research and interviews with those who fought there, Moore and Galloway were able to tell the story of the entire battle as seen through the eyes of soldiers, including the commander of the Vietnamese troops.

This film is true to the book and tells the story of the men who fought bravely and died on LZ X-Ray. The director, Randall Wallace said that he set out to make the movie true to the battle after reading that Colonel Moore said that "Hollywood had gotten the story of the Vietnam soldier wrong every damned time."

If you are looking for a pure action movie, this is not for you. If you are looking for an ideologic, political movie a la Platoon or Apocalypse Now, this is not your movie.

Mel Gibson plays Colonel Moore with much gusto and is very believable as a Lt. Colonel. Sam Elliott's portrayal of Command Sergeant Major Plumley brought back memories of CSM's and 1st sergeants I knew in my military service. Greg Kinnear as Bruce Crandall, a brave helicopter pilot that kept the wounded moving, the reinforcements and supplies coming. Barry Pepper rounds out the top four of the cast in a memorable performance as reporter Joe Galloway. Others in this movie are Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein of American Pie fame, Keri Russell (Felicity)and Ryan Hurst (Saving Private Ryan, Remember the Titans).

The pace of the movie is very good, beginning with a quick introduction about the Vietnam War. Showing the troops getting ready to leave their families and the pain their loved ones feel when they do leave. It then drops us into the middle of battle with cinematography on par with Saving Private Ryan. It is during this time and during the aftermath that we see the incredible bravery and selfless sacrifice on both sides that day. It brought tears to my eyes watching the battle, knowing that this movie was a true account of one of the battles of Vietnam. The movie also cuts back to the homefront, where the wives eagerly await the return of their husbands and dread the receipt of news that they have become a widow.

Being a veteran of our U.S. Army, maybe I am more sentimental to movies of this nature than non-veterans. I have seen more war movies than I can remember. I'll say this...never have I been more moved or more touched or more proud after watching a movie about the brave men of our military. I am not ashamed to say that I wept during this film. The portrayal of the battle and the camaraderie of men during battle is dead on and moved me to tears. The carnage of the war and the dead and dying was hard to watch. I was very touched that this movie showed the war back home, which has not happened in any film that I can remember. This movie portrayed the anxiety and fear of the soldiers' wives, who awaited their return and feared every day that they would become widows.

If you want and ideological spin on the Vietnam war made by people who won't stop talking about its failures, rent Platoon or another movie. If you want to watch a tribute to thos soldiers, and see true heroism and the sacrifice that our soldiers made back then and continue to make today, watch this movie.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."