Great emotional Vietnam film starring Mel Gibson.

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2010)

I saw this film at the theater and it was a totally engrossing film. My dad, who served in the Vietnam War also enjoyed it as it was not a film that made the United States troops look horrible, while this one puts them in a more positive light. Though I would also say that "Full Metal Jacket" was a rather good movie about the Vietnam War as well. This one chronicles one battle during the conflict. I think it was like one of the first involving the Vietnamese and the U.S. military and it is a very good conflict on screen as it really keeps you on edge. You also get good performances from Mel Gibson, Sam Elliot and even Greg Kinnear. The film is very emotional as you get shots of the wife of Mel Gibson's character delivering letters to wives whose husbands are killed in battle in Vietnam. There is a little humor in the film, but much after the conflict starts which is understandable as Sam Elliot has a couple of good lines before shipping out. Like I said the battle itself is very edge of your sit type stuff, you have your drama and you have some very graphic kills as the one involving the napalm was particularly nasty. The movie shifts focus from time to time though so you are not sure at times how much time has passed in certain scenes, they also seem to ignore the fact that the M-16 rifle was not exactly a great weapon in its day, instead making it nearly flawless. Which it was when kept clean, however as my dad said if it got dirty it did not fire. Overall, though this movie was a good emotional film that deserved a bit more recognition in 2002 as I think it did not get any awards at all.