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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We Were Soldiers Translated to Film,
By
This review is from: We Were Soldiers-Dvd (DVD)
One of the best Vietnam war movies made, "We Were Soldiers" features some of the most realistic combat scenes conveying the "fog of battle" and horror of combat. The story development may seem slow at first, but allows some appreciation of the characters involved and the context of the battle. The action is fast paced, showing the battle from both the North Vietnamese and American points of view, but is broken by the juxtaposition of poignant events on the home front and political machinations in the rear areas.
Mel Gibson is surprisingly exceptional as the gung-ho Colonel Hal Moore, Sam Elliot seems born to the role of the salty Sergeant Major Basil Plumley, and the entire supporting cast does a wonderful job. The cinematography and special effects go a long way towards recreating the confusing swirl of a battle with ill-defined lines. The film is perhaps flawed only by its attempts to cover too many social and political issues in the one film; forgivable in the context of creating a story intended as a microcosm of the entire Vietnam War. This does however, lead to short scenes seemingly out of step with the rest of the film. Additionally, there are some unrealistic liberties (Killed in Action telegrams arriving home during the first night of battle), but it is simply artistic license required to make the story work. If you're willing to remember a film has limited time to tell its tale, these flashes into the social, political and personal issues go a long way in back-filling the context of the story and the conflicting emotions and views of the characters. In the end, this is a movie of war and the people involved, and it is a very good one. It's a decent translation of the book to film, and the best portrayal of the 1st Air Cav's action at Ia Drang (the only battle of the Vietnam War in which sizable US Army and NV Army forces faced each other). You'll like this movie if: You liked "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down", or Mel Gibson in "The Patriot." You'll dislike this movie if: You're expecting a strict antiwar piece, a reprise of Mel Gibson in "Gallipoli" or the complicated subplots and storyline of "The Deer Hunter". For a more detailed and realistic look at the battle, read Hal Moore's and Joe Galloway's book by the same title: We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang - the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dedication to One's Loyalties,
This review is from: We Were Soldiers-Dvd (DVD)
What I like about this movie is how both sides are depicted in this vicious engagement during the Vietnam War. You get a genuine feeling of conviction for the ideals being fought for by both opposing officers in command. The fighting is fierce and the North Vietnamese are going to hold their ground at all costs. The Americans will try and take the ground until ordered otherwise. This film examines the nature of war through the eyes of both men in charge on the field of battle. Barry Pepper in a very colorful role represents every man's instinct to survive.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"They attack us; no casualties. They retreat into the mountains and, naturally, we follow them. Smell like an ambush to you?",
By
This review is from: We Were Soldiers-Dvd (DVD)
WE WERE SOLDIERS is based on the memoirs of then-Lt. Col. Hal Moore Jr. His WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE...AND YOUNG is co-authored by Joe Galloway, played in this film adaptation by Barry Pepper.
In "We Were Soldiers," director Randall Wallace presents a careful recreation of the initial phase of the battle of La Drang, the first major clash in Vietnam between American troops and those of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). It's the harrowing story of a vastly outnumbered and green 7th Cavalry unit choppered into the field on what quickly becomes a suicide mission. They engage an enemy with 20 years fighting experience that also has the geographical advantage of high ground entrenchment. Reporter/fotog Joe Galloway choppers in just before the worst fighting begins and ends up battling for his life. On 11/15/65, Col. Moore (Gibson) radios a "Broken Arrow" distress call when his troops are being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and it looks like they'll all get slaughtered just as French forces were a decade earlier. The American response is immediate and decisive. Machine gun fire from helicopter warships in co-ordination with accurate artillery barrages turn the tide of battle and decimate the NVA. This most graphic of all 'Nam films has a solid hour of horrendous battles that intercut occasionally with scenes of the pressures wives back home must cope with. "We Were Soldiers" is brilliant, bloody, tragic and definitely NOT for the squeamish! Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating. (7.0) We Were Soldiers (USA/Germany-2002) - Mel Gibson/Madeleine Stowe/Greg Kinnear/Sam Elliott/Chris Klein/Keri Russell/Barry Pepper/Duong Don/Dylan Walsh
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