An honest portrayal. No politics, just war

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2002)

I am amazed at the misdirected and uninformed criticisms contained in some of the reviews. While most reviews are rightfully favorable, some seem to view this movie as just some jingoistic portrayal of American history, rather than accepting that this is a "real story" told by the "real commander" of the US forces involved. It is not totally faithful to the extraordinary book by Hal Moore, "We Were Soldiers Once--and Young", but a great attempt was made, with a great result. The battle portrayed certainly occurred at a time (1965) when the War in Vietnam was not yet in disfavor with the nation. To put it in a social context, Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets" was a number one song that year in the US. The national "guilt trip" had not yet set in (to continue for the next 25 years). The particular political context in which to put our involvement in Vietnam at that time was as a continuation of our foreign policy of "containment" (of communism). That was it. While the validity of that concept may be argued, that policy is why we fielded troops in Vietnam. Those troops of the 1st Cav or any other unit had no vote in the matter. They went and they did their duty. The 1st Cav was among the first large units to arrive after the advisors, and this was the first big, set-piece battle. Moore was an excellent commander, with excellent subordinates and troops, and made the best out of a very tough situation. The movie even paid due respect to a tough, dedicated opponent--the North Vietnamese Army. Gibson, Elliot and Kinnear, in particular, turned in fine performances. Unfavorable comparisons of this movie to "Platoon" are without basis, as that movie was based on a work of pure fiction. "Platoon" was plagued by Oliver Stone's own political angst and bitter orientation (evidently) regarding his own service in the infantry in Vietnam, and distorted the image of US infantrymen in Vietnam, portraying them primarily as either murderers, druggies or both (if you doubt that, read Robert Hemphill's, "Platoon, Bravo Company", which tells the real story of the unit Stone served in and allegedly portrayed in "Platoon"). "We Were Soldiers" contained scenes that were brutal, shocking, and violent--welcome to real combat. I served in Vietnam as an infantryman, and I swear that this movie was head and shoulders above "Platoon", "Full-Metal Jacket" or "Appocalypse Now" in its portrayal of American infantry combat in that war.