Very Powerful

Rating: 10/10 (12 February 2002)

I have just finished one of the most powerful emotional experiences of my life. I had the opportunity to watch a preview of this movie with approximately 1500 other cadets. Also seated with us were three of the stars of the movie (Mel Gibson, Madeline Stowe, and Chris Klein), approximately forty generals representing some of the highest ranking officers in the Army, and several retired Army officers and soldiers, who were present for the events depicted in the film.
The movie itself is an incredibly realistic depiction of warfare. It is not only bloody, but it conveys the terror that a soldier would feel fighting outnumbered, surrounded, far-from safety, against an enemy that moves in swarms by day and by stealth at night. At no time is the destruction glorified in any way. In fact, its true impact is shown both on the other soldiers in the battle as well as the families left at home.
Watching this movie, I could empathize with the characters in a way that was stronger than any other movie that I have ever seen. Throughout the movie, I could only think about how I could be in the same situation as these soldiers. In about a year, I will have graduated, gotten married, nearly completed the standard infantry schooling, and be getting ready to take command of my first platoon. Though the events depicted in the movie took place in a war that ended about thirty years ago, it is not hard to imagine me being in a similar situation in a very short time. Technology has changed, but the basics remain the same.
As sat there, trying to imagine how I would react if thrust into such a chaotic situation, how my fiance would react if something happened to me, I was awe-struck by the courage and determination demonstrated by the soldiers that were there. When the movie was over and the lights had come back on, I turned around and looked people that lived through the events just depicted on the screen. Standing less than five feet from me were some true heroes. People that did what their country asked selflessly. I have to say that by the end of the movie, I was as close to tears as I have ever come by any movie, a feeling shared by many of my fellow cadets.