A bit too much combat.

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2002)

As much as I liked this film, I thought it was somewhat disappointing. I was hoping to add it to my movie library but it is not to be. Vietnam is now something that belongs in the classic realm of 70's and 80's cinema. Nothing made in the future will ever stand up to 'The Deer Hunter', 'Apocalypse Now' and the best of the bunch...Oliver Stone's 'Platoon' from 1986. 'We Were Soldiers' has just a bit too much combat and not enought strength of character. I did enjoy seeing the stakes as high as they were in the fact that Mel Gibson has a large family in the movie and this kept hope alive that he wouldn't get killed. I'm not saying whether he does or not. Randall Wallace, who wrote 'Braveheart' which was directed by Gibson, writes and directs 'We Were Soldiers' with good steadiness, believable action sequences and a state of the art sound track. But I just felt the film was too long, too drawn out and rather than show flashes of combat which last a few minutes, Wallace chooses to assault the senses head on and thus fails to make this a film that requires enjoyable multiple viewings.