The best war film in the past few years

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2002)

This is best film on the Vietnam War that I have ever seen. Mel Gibson does extremely well as a commanding officer and father of five seeing the omens stack up one by one. With support from war movie vet Sam Elliot, they put on two of the best performances in this film. I liked Sam Elliot's dead-on and somewhat hilarious retorts to the other cast members. Chris Klein, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Madeline Stowe, and Keri Russell rounded out a great cast that were all affected by the first major skirmish of the Vietnam War. What made this movie especially good and at some points hard to watch was the method of chosen storytelling. The story wasn't limited to the American combatants. It told the story from the Vietnamese point of view of the North Vietnamese army as well as the wives of the American troops. This was another film to show that war is hell for every side. It is reminiscent of "Braveheart", "The Patriot", "Saving Private Ryan", and "Enemy At The Gates". The cinematography, choreographed violence, and make-up effects made this biopic of the 7th Cavalry Division all the more unsettling and effective. Randall Wallace made a film that should always be looked at as one of the most patriotic films of all time. This is the best war film to have come out since "Saving Private Ryan" and I give it a 10 out of 10!