Brings back a lot of memories

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2002)

Mel Gibson is no John Wayne, and this is not "The Green Berets." And while the humanity of the leaders and the brutality of the war in Vietnam come through in both films, this film is so very different.
Fierce in its intensity and as graphically accurate as a film can be, the movie is serious fare and not for the lighthearted. For those of us who were there, in country, this film is a savage reminder of the stupidity of politicians trying to legislate a war. From the early war scenes of the French in Indo-China, to the (in retrospect) prophetic statement of the Vietnamese commander at the end of the film, the story is cast in a very historical light.
That this is a new kind of war, with new troops, new weapons, and new tactics does not escape Gibson's character. Thus, the film shows that not only in the field but back home, as Madeleine Stowe's character remarks, "the Army wasn't prepared for this."
Early on, we meet Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) as a family man, but also as a professional soldier. And, we meet Sgt Major Plumley (Sam Elliot) as the grizzled old warrior. Together, they know that it will be a tough job to get these kids trained and to keep (in as much as it might be possible) these youngsters from getting killed. Barry Pepper is outstanding in his role as a news photographer who hops a ride to the battle.
Even in "Soldiers" the life of those "who sit and wait" is not well developed -- which can be explained given that the story is primarily of the story of those who have gone off to fight. Thus, we never get to really know Madeleine Stowe's character (Julie Moore) very well. Still, we do get an insight into her life as a take charge of the situation military spouse in the mid 60's. Additionally, the gathering of the wives, the sharing of their stories, and lives, is an added dimension that so many war films overlook. The naivety of many of us who were not from the segregated South is tastefully revealed and well played out.
The scene of a group of newspaper journalists and photographers arriving via helicopter after the fighting was typical of media of the day, and (in my humble opinion) not far removed from some of their antics today. After over three days of fighting, killing, and dying --the cleaned and pressed press corp comes in asking their usual repertoire of insensitive, if not stupid, questions. Sadly, this is one of the many accurate scenes in the film.