The shooting location kinda ruined this for me

Rating: 6/10 (9 July 2017)

"We Were Soldiers" has the reputation of getting the Vietnam war right in the eyes of the veterans. So I was expecting a realistic battle. That I got, and I was pleased to see the Vietcong side as well, which you never see. I also loved Barry Pepper's character, even though he's on film for maybe 20% of the movie. It felt right. But what didn't and ruined the movie for me is the shooting location. They shot this in California; I didn't know that before watching it. But immediately I thought "I feel in a temperate climate somewhere in Europe or North America, not in South-East Asia". The trees are wrong, the grasses are wrong, the dried creeks are wrong. They could have shot this in the Philippines, like Apocalypse Now, in Thailand, Malaysia... Even in central America like Panama or something. Why the hell go to California ? For all the things it got right, I really regret that location choice.