First-rate, powerful, pro-America war movie that tackles several moral issues

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2003)

Evidently, the aptly named "Spleen" saw a different film from what the rest of us viewed.
There are several great moral questions in this movie, which are explicated by Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson in powerhouse performances that deserved better than a snubbing by the Academy at Oscar-nomination time. The action scenes are believable and tense, while the courtroom drama is absent the usual "Perry Mason" level of histrionics. No complaints on any part... and you will be kept guessing until the end whether or not Jackson is guilty -- and whether or not he will be FOUND guilty, regardless.
Few movies have addressed so many gripping dilemmas:
What is the moral duty of a soldier when he believes his unit to be under hostile fire from enemy combatants hiding within a crowd of Yemeni civilians?
Did Jackson's character, Col. Childers, correctly assess what was happening, or was he wrong? And if wrong, is he then guilty of negligent homicide?

What is the role of the government when the moral case collides head-on with an important military alliance in the war against terrorism?
The Vietnam scenes were both powerful and necessary to set up two points: first, the personal connection between Cols. Hodges (Jones) and Childers; and second, the ethical pall that Vietnam cast over the United States in general, and our soldiers in particular -- a demon that had to be exorcised, lest we face total paralysis in a time of great danger (even more now post 9/11 than when the film was released in 2000).
This is a meaty, paradigm-shaking movie that will be remembered decades after everyone has forgotten about Saving Private Spielberg.