Dated, stagy Vietnam film

Rating: 5/10 (14 April 2010)

DePalma is one of the most prolific American directors of our time, and has created some masterpieces such as "Scarface" as well as some horror classics, "Carrie" and "Dressed To Kill." "Casualties of War possesses the same qualities that DePalma is recognized for; excellent, stylish camera-work and editing, a sense of intense drama, etc. his Vietnam war film even features a sweeping, epic score from Ennio Morricone. But for some reason he was not able to get one believable performance out of his usually talented cast. The usually brilliant Sean Penn delivers an embarrassingly bad performance as the bullying officer in command, complete with a cheesy, fake Brooklyn accent, while Michael J. Fox, (another talented actor) gives a typical, one dimensional characterization of the innocent by-stander, who must endure the horrors and corruption around him. his whole performance consists of making anguished faces and looking horrified or hurt. Strangely enough, the only memorable performance was given by the little-known actress who played the Vietnamese girl who is kidnapped, raped and murdered. The scenes of this girl suffering are genuinely harrowing, and her cries and look of utter horror at what is happening around her, will haunt many viewers long after they see it. This one had potential, given all the talent involved, but the hammy acting by the all-star cast, combined with an awful screenplay, sinks this one. The problem here is that "Casualties" looks and feels too much like a 'movie.' This style works fine for other subjects, but when dealing with something like war, this was just not realistic or gritty enough. Recent films like "Black Hawk Down" handle the subject much more effectively.