Slow start, then stumble, fumble

Rating: 2/10 (21 January 2013)

The first 40 or more minutes of this thing were space filler. Very unlike "Apocalypse Now" or "Full Metal Jacket". Gotta get the "human aspect" into things, I suppose. Wives, kids, pathos, blah, blah, blah. Why? Because that's part of the formula for most similar movies. Then, of course, the dramatic music and grim face routines. More from the cinematic chemistry book - how to make a movie. 46 minutes to the first bursts of gunfire and no sign of the enemy. Who are the GI's shooting at? As it turns out...no one. 1000 rounds wasted. Good for the defense industry. The first battle scene, an officer leads his men into an obvious ambush. Brilliant. If these are American soldiers, we are in trouble. A phony movie for dull people.