We Were Actors. We Were Directors. We Were Producers. We were responsible for this unoriginal, uneven, and annoyingly average war flick.

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2002)

`We Were Soldiers' is yet another Vietnam movie. This time we're recounting the true-life story of Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson), leading his squad into one of the few battles that the American forces won in the war.
I'm quite surprised to see the high rating this movie has achieved on IMDB. Perhaps it's a sign of the times affecting people's critical centres, or maybe I'm missing something, but this movie is nothing but forgettable and average for a number of reasons. The acting is solid but unspectacular. Gibson is perfect for the role of the affable, charismatic-but-human leader, and doesn't need to extend his talent here  there's nothing to challenge him. It's `The Patriot' for the 1960s. The rest of the cast accredit themselves by not grating, apart from some hysterical melodrama on the parts of the actresses who represent the soldiers' wives.
What of the script and plot? The first forty minutes are TV-movie-of-the-week fare. They're also brimming with hammy deliveries and moments with enough cheese to put France out of business. Think I'm kidding? Then explain the laughter from the cinema audience I was a part of, as the movie kicks into sentimental moments when Moore says his farewells to his family, and pontificates from his altar to his troops about their war effort. The movie tries to win the audience by creating overtly-sympathetic characters with `perfect' families of cute little kids, or  in one case  a brand new baby to look after. Rather than allow us to admire the characters solely for their action or deeds, we're given forced empathy because of those they leave behind. As the movie progresses, and some characters die, we're left with a turgid plot line involving the remaining wives delivering soldier's death notices. Irrelevant of the reality its based on, the scene are delivered in an over-the-top fashion that relegates the actual truth to some bizarre, too-sentimental mush.
The direction, handled by Randall Wallace, is similarly in your face. The battles aren't boring, so much as average. It's also done very traditionally  countless times, I was able to predict the death of the next soldier due to the weak set-up of the moment (slow motion, turns around in a particular manner, et cetera). This shreds the movie of any sense of suspense, and makes for a much more un-involving passive experience. There are some moments when Wallace really goes-to-town and actually makes you wince  a particular photo moment, overlaying the battles, is extremely cringe-inducing. The only real noticeable work of Wallace is the helicopter flights, which tend to look quite pretty as they fly through the air, but that's kinda it.
Don't think `We Were Soldiers' is a dreadful movie. It ain't. It's just not a very good one. It doesn't touch the Vietnam trio of `Full Metal Jacket', `Apocalypse Now' and `Platoon'. As a movie, apart from whatever memories it may evoke, it can only get from me an average rating. And that's a 4.8/10.