Intense and touching, with decent characters.

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2002)

My biggest complaint about the film "Blackhawk Down" was that the characters were never really developed, so it was hard for me to get emotional about their struggle. Just the opposite is true in "We Were Soldiers". Usually, the infantrymen in Viet Nam films are nameless faceless extras, but here many of the 'grunts' get a decent back-story just like the 'leaders' do to build on, and it helps when viewing the movie. When you care about the characters, it's a much more enjoyable experience even when the scenes are as brutal and graphic as they are here. Mel Gibson as the leader Hal Moore, borderlines on over-the-top, but as the film went on I began to accept it as accurate because 1) the real Hal Moore was a consultant during filming and 2) I bet over-the-top was mandatory when dealing with the many intense situations these soldiers and their families were faced with. Sam Elliot as an old crusty sargent was great and should be recognized at award time. In the middle of battle he tells all the young soldiers "Any of you call me grandfather and I'll kill ya." Greg Kinear is also very good as an arrogant helicopter pilot, who backs up his boasts when it counts. Good, not great performances are put in by Chris Kline and Barry Peppar. Madeline Stowe is adequate as the wife of Hal Moore who takes on the role of leader of the wives left behind.
As I mentioned earlier the battle scenes are extremely graphic and disturbing, but never gratuitous. Randall Wallace who had double duty as both writer and director, never glorifies the violence, whether it's Americans or the Vietnamese. The 'days-long' battle portrayed here was the first major one of the war for the U.S. and took place in 1965, so it was refreshing not too see a lot of the drug-use and anti-war rhetoric that took place as the war went on, as shown in Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket. I was born in 1962 so naturally I have no real recollection of Viet Nam, but looking at a lot of the comments from other IMDB users that were there; they have positive things to say about the movie, and that's probably the best compliment Mr. Gibson and Mr. Wallace could hope to receive. 9 of 10.