critique of We Were Soldiers

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2006)

The true events depicted in We Were Soldiers make the movie just as much about emotion as the brutality of war. Based on the book We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young by Lt Col Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway about the first major battle in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965, the film accurately depicts the bloody engagement of four hundred American troops against two thousand North Vietnamese soldiers. The movie was was written and directed by Randall Wallace. There were three producers of the movie; Bruce Davey, Stephen McEveety, and Randall Wallace. We Were Soldiers takes a unique approach to the war story as told by cinema. This movie addresses the emotional toll the war has on the soldiers during the fighting, and the same toll as felt by the families they left behind to serve this country. The beginning of the movie revolves around the establishment of relationships between the soldiers and their families, as well as the connectedness of all the families portrayed in the movie. In no time at all, however, the viewer is introduced to the gruesome reality of war. Almost upon landing at LZ X-Ray, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (led by Lt. Col. Hal Moore) are surrounded by enemy forces. Some of those soldiers whom the viewer is led to believe to be the main "characters" are quickly faced with the bitterness of mortality, as they are not immune to incoming enemy fire. Despite the large number of "characters" introduced, it was pretty easy to follow each individual story. There were no inconsistencies in character portrayal throughout the movie, lest you count Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley telling Sgt. Ernie Savage, "That's a nice day, Sergeant Savage" after Savage is rescued. This is inconsistent with Plumley because at the beginning of the movie, Plumley regularly dismisses Savage's attempts at describing the beautiful mornings at base camp. Other than the said example, the rest of the movie flowed smoothly in its character portrayal.
Nick Glennie-Smith composed the music of We Were Soldiers. He delivered a highly passionate score filled with heroism and sadness. Every scene of heroism was filled with music set to inspire the viewer. Each scene of sadness was magically paired with a haunting piece of music. This can really be seen in the scenes in which Lt. Col. Hal Moore's wife Julie Moore delivers the telegrams to her friends and fellow wives. Or when 2nd Lt. Jack Geoghegan sacrifices his life to bring back a fallen soldier. The music is a perfect match to the movie. In We Were Soldiers, there are many instances of slow motion. This adds to the dramatic affect the director is looking to get from his audience. For instance, when Sp4 Galen Bungum and Sgt. Ernie Savage each kill a North Vietnamese soldier in hand-to-hand combat. The speed is slowed so that the viewer might really understand the soldiers' fight for survival in Vietnam, and realize the emotional impact that would be felt by the two American soldiers. Another scene was when Joe Galloway ran through the battlefield taking pictures of the dead, the wounded, and those in combat. Once again, this was done to allow the viewer to appreciate the full scope and magnitude of the fighting and sacrifice that happened in the Valley of Death. It was because of scenes such as these that really opened my eyes for the human need and want to survive. The will of these soldiers as portrayed by the actors was simply amazing. Such determination to keep the man standing beside them alive was truly inspirational. I think Lt. General Hal Moore had it right when he said, "American soldiers in battle don't fight for what some president says on T.V., they don't fight for mom, apple pie, the American flag...they fight for one another." We Were Soldiers could be argued to be a propaganda movie that tries to glorify the Vietnam War. However, I believe that purpose for the movie was to bring to light the sacrifices of the American soldier and his family during this time period. In the book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young, the authors write about Hollywood movies of Vietnam, and how they got it wrong every time. Randall Wallace (director, writer, and producer of the movie) only sought to get it right. Though I wasn't even alive during the Vietnam War, I believe Wallace and his crew got it right, for once. The movie We Were Soldiers is a very probable movie. For one, it is based on actual events that occurred at the Ia Drang Valley in 1965. Also, the movie is based on the nonfiction, documentary book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young. The special effects, the raw emotion, and the outstanding acting made this movie very believable. On a scale of one to four, four being the highest, I would rate the movie a four, for reasons found throughout this critique.