An excellent film about a little known part of the Vietnam War... The beginning.

Rating: Null/10 (11 March 2002)

We Were Soldiers is an important addition the body of films about the Vietnam War. One important distinction from its predecessors is that this film recognizes the presence of the French Colonials in Vietnam 10 years before the Americans ever arrived. (There was a scene of a French plantation that was cut from the film Apocalypse Now that is now available in the new Redux version on DVD.) Another thing that sets this movie apart is the fact that it deals with the very beginning of the war in 1965, while most other films deal with periods from 1967 to 1970 when the scope of the war had expanded. People expect Vietnam films to be about demoralized draftees who don't want to be there and escape from their hellish reality with drugs. This was certainly true later in the war, but not in 1965. Some other criticisms have been made about the film's dialogue being too flag-waving and jingoistic. I don't believe that these allegations have a lot of merit because in November 1965 the soldiers coming to Vietnam were bright eyed and idealistic in many cases. The draft had not expanded yet and many of the soldiers were volunteers who were anxious to stop the perceived spread of communism. Lines like "I'm glad I was able to die for my country", could certainly have been uttered from the lips of a dying soldier at this early stage of the war. As a Sergeant in the Marine Corps I can certainly attest to the battle sequences harrowing realism. I do not believe these scenes glorify war or violence, but they give us a vivid picture of a literal hell on earth! All the performances by the actors are solid, (except for Chris Klein, who can't act himself out of a paper bag)! When this film was released I saw a daily poll on IMDB ask: What do you think the best movie about Vietnam is? I consider this a hard question to answer because the conflict lasted officially from 1964 to 1973. American involvement went through at least three distinct phases that lasted nine years! Any one film may capture 1 of the 3 phases well, but not the entire conflict! All considered, this film remains true to history and is a testament to the sacrifice and dedication of the American soldier. In any War.