armchair experts not welcome here

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2006)

in 1970 I had no job prospects and not enough grades to go to university. I toyed with the idea of taking a bus to the Detroit recruiting center and go to Viet Nam and try to kill some communists.
but the place was a quagmire at that point and those in the know realized it was a lose-lose prospect. the north Vietnamese were willing to pay any price to win and far too many of the south Vietnamese saw the war as a great way to make money on the black market.
the most telling thing for me about the movie wasn't even part of it, it was the commentary and interviews included in the DVD, 'they finally got it right'.
this film should be required viewing for all the congressional hawks who have vested interests in outfits like halliburton and big oil. who refuse to enlist their *own* kids in the army and instead send the young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods.
how can the USA put such an appallingly inept man like George dubya 'Im a war president' in charge when his claim to fame is dodging his responsibilities in the air national reserve? I have immense respect for military fighting personnel but cringe at all the glorification and exclusivity attached to it. a filthy business fraught with collateral casualties as depicted in the movie and as we see still in reports from Evanston.
attention to detail puts this film above other fare. realism and emphasis of 'getting it right'.
and to blazes with the hollywoodists clicheists who nitpick about things they know NOTHING about.
I am immensely glad I never enlisted and instead opted to go back for 1 more year of high school. but if I ever had to serve in combat I would have hoped it would be under leadership of someone like Moore.