Customer Reviews

The Veteran

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Watching this movie was a mixed bag for my family and myself. I thought that this would be a rehash of some more well known movies regarding the Vietnam War and its veterans, but I found the premise very interesting: MIAs remaining in Vietnam 30+ years after, and U.S. government agency intentions to find them. I also had the preconceived notion that a it would have low production and storyline quality. However, I was actually surprised at the quality of the production, especially the flashback scenes. The actors in the flashback scenes do an excellent job and add much to the realistic nature of these scenes. The main actors are also effective enough, but the hotel room scenes do get tiresome. The thing that disappointed me and my family was the ending - it was so abrupt that I wondered if the producers ran out of money and decided to call it quits. I wont give the ending away, but the premise of national intelligence agency involvement with a presidential hopeful seems rather far fetched. I would have given this movie 3 stars if it weren't for the ending.

When I first saw this at the local dvd rental store I went on the thought to rent it just because it was another "Vietnam War" movie and it's good to see more coming out!
However as I watched this within minutes I saw the connection and its an obvious second part to "Under Heavy Fire!!"
I was happy of course because though "Under Heavy Fire" is not an epic 5 star movie, I did enjoy it a lot!!

I wont give away things at all in this movie, but this "Veteran" brought back all the characters from "Under Heavy Fire" and made it better.
The main issue is about MIA's but it all ties in well with the main plot from "Under Heavy Fire."

I heavily recommend watching "Under Heavy Fire" first and then the "Veteran" second and you will see quite a connection and near sequal!

The premise about American soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam war still being in Vietnam is an interesting one. But it's not well executed. Not until after watching the movie did I learn that the flashback scenes were archive footage from another movie, (Under Heavy Fire, aka. Going Back). That explains the difference in production values between those scenes and present-day sceness that were actually shot for this movie. The present-day storyline is very thin and seems to be nothing more than a means to connect the flashback scenes, in order to get two movies for the production cost of one and a half. The result is rather incoherent and also quite dull and unsatisfying. Not recommended.

This is supposed to be about Marines and MIAs in the Vietnam war. Operative word here is 'supposed.' This movie is so bad, it is an insult to Maines and the U.S. Marine Corps. You want to see the correct props and language in a war movie, especially a Marine Vietnam war movie; it makes it more 'real,' at least for those of us who were there. Pineapple grenades were not used in Vietnam; baseballs were used. A Marine would never call another Marine 'soldier,' and a Marine would only call for 'Corpsman,' never 'Medic.' The premise of the story is an MIA looking for revenge, because his Corpsman knows he is a homosexual--unreal!! Very poor writing, direction, and acting. This is a movie that never should have advanced beyond the script. Then again, I have never seen a movie made in Canada or by a Canadian about Vietnam that was ever good, let alone accurate for the time with the proper equipment and language. This movie is so bad it is not even an Ed Wood clone. Semper Fi

Now my experience with war films tends to be, well, unreliable when it comes to writing reviews on them. I admit. Let me explain why.

I mean, what I tend to GET out of them -more often than not- is NOT what most people get out of them. Perhaps this is due to the fact I've never been in a war before, so I can't relate to the constant hectic and dangerous activity these soldiers experience every day. Or perhaps I just tend to always miss the main point of the storyline, haha.

My point? I usually get a lot of emotion out of war films to the point I feel like crying most of the time. I just don't always *know* if that's an appropriate reaction. I just don't always know what kind of emotions the movie writers are going for when it concerns war films.

The Veteran is one of those kind of films. I personally found many of the scenes quite sad, such as the one scene showing dead Vietnamese soldiers hanging in a huge sack from a helicopter, along with a scene where American soldiers accidentally took out a group of young Vietnamese women.

These scenes aren't necessarily the point of the story this film is trying to tell, however. The storyline is actually about two soldiers who fought side by side during the Vietnam War reflecting on their days in combat. So while the two soldiers are sitting in a hotel room reflecting on the past, there's a ton of flashback scenes.

I like war films like this one quite a lot, and this film executed its story quite well I thought.

However, another part of the storyline is that one of the soldiers in the hotel room does something bad during the Vietnam War, and so these undercover agents are listening in closely to the converations taking place between the two soldiers, and looking for a confession out of the one man.

I won't spoil what exactly the soldier DID that prompted this section of the story to happen- you have to watch it to find out.

Great storyline, and a quality war film. It's worth watching for both movie watchers and those who love war films.