Finally, somebody got it right about Vietnam!

Rating: 8/10 (7 June 2003)

Over the years, the movie going public has been subjected to film after film after film about the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, most of them are largely philosophical and don't paint the American soldier in a very positive light. The film makers usually take a leftist position towards the government and try to use the conflict on the ground as some sort of metaphor for the existential purpose of life. Thus, we get subjected to films like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Casualties of War. Although those film makers are certainly free to show us these interpretations of Vietnam, it gets old seeing our military trashed and our brave soldiers painted as drugged up sadists who were fighting for an immoral cause.
From the beginning, you could tell We Were Soldiers is something different. It clearly shows the American soldier as what he/she usually is: Professional, brave, intelligent, and resourceful. There are no higher moral questions draped over this film. We simply see war as what it truly is. It is a conflict built up in the minds of our governments and carried out on the battlefield by our soldiers. Nothing more. Nothing less. Ultimately it is just about the man next to you and the men you're fighting against. We Were Soldiers focuses on this and this alone.
The Ia Drang battle scenes (which take up most of the screen time) are ferocious. Mel Gibson shines as Col. Moore. He is the ultimate personification of masculinity. He ignores repeated requests for him to leave the battlefield as his troops are cut off and outnumbered. He seems to take the loss of each man personally as each commander should do. The combat footage is very graphic. This is not a film for those with weak stomachs.

This film also gives us another thing other Vietnam War films are reluctant to even touch. It shows us behind the scenes footage of the North Vietnamese Army planning their assaults and evaluating American tactics. It's about time some movie showed the human side to the NVA. They are usually portrayed as heartless, soul-less savages. This is ridiculous. They were family men who took just as much pride in a job well done as our own troops.

We Were Soldiers is an experience you won't soon forget. It is the pinnacle of what a war film should be. Not much time wasted on politics or existential philosophy. It is simply a graphic a realistic portrayal of war. For the soldiers on the battlefield, it isn't a matter of politics or a question of should we be here or not. What it comes down to is this: you have to kill your enemy or he will kill you!
4 1/2 of 5 stars
So sayeth the Hound.