A Subterfuge of Political Correctness

Rating: 8/10 (20 August 2002)

I enjoyed the resolve of Mel Gibson's character in this film and the fact that it celebrates one of the great U.S. victories in the field before the traitorous demonstrators "back home" took it upon themselves to put the handcuffs on our freedom fighters. (They are squarely to blame for the fall of South Vietnam to the bloody Communists.) Getting back to the film, I gave it 8 stars, but I was disappointed by the undercurrent of political correctness. Three major instances stick out like a sore thumb, but remain unaddressed by others. First, we have the united colors of Benetton represented in Moore's outfit, concerning which Moore gives a speech! Was this historically accurate? I doubt it. Second, Barry Pepper's character plays a reporter who is disgusted by war. I am a big fan of Barry's, but this character only succeeds in having us question the entire premise of this film. His presence leaves us confused about who the real heroes are. Third, the NVA are presented with a human touch, as if they are morally equivalent to Joe Soldier. This is ridiculous and sickening. The North Vietnamese Army was the weapon of an evil Communist regime that would overrun South Vietnam, killing, raping, and torturing its kind inhabitants. Do we present Hitler's SS in a similar light? Of course not, that would be anathema to the Hollywood Left. Overall, this film is a good flag-waving epic marred by a few disturbing and utterly curious elements.