We Were Soldiers

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2011)

We Were Soldiers is an action pack movie that is a little different from most war movies. Instead of focusing on just the battles surrounding two ermines of different countries, We Were Soldiers focus on all aspect of the war. The main theme concentrates on the toll that war takes on not only the solders of both sides, but also the families the solders are attached to. The movie describes the first major battle of the Vietnam War and how it affected the soldiers and their families.
Lt. Col. Hal Moore is call up to take charge of a new plan developed by the United States. This new plan will allow troops to be flown in and out of battle quickly by helicopters. Lt. Moore embraces this challenge and trains his men hard so they will be prepared for battle. Once training was finished, the men headed to a battle zone that was called The Valley of Death. This battle became the first major battle in a war known as the Vietnam War. The movie concentrates not on just the battle itself, but how the soldiers and their families were affected by war. The fighting scenes focus on how the solders on both side felts as fierce fighting was going on with each other. At times they were brave and other time they became scared to death. While this intense battle is going on, the wife's back on the home front are also taking a beating by hearing about the death of their husbands. At this time Julie Moore (Lt. Moore wife) takes charge in contacting the other wife's once their husbands have been killed. Julie Moore stays strong throughout the whole time and kept the other wife's together and helps them with their problems.
Lt. Moore and his men are out number five to one by the Vietnam solders, so they are hanging on to their lines by a thread. Maj. Bruce Crandall is one of the helicopter pilots who put his own life at risk in order to help the solders on the ground survive. Maj. Crandall provides courage for the other pilots as they continue to bring in supply and more solders. Without the support of these pilots, the ground troops would not have survived.
The movie special sound affect and lighting enhances the overall quality of this film. The fighting scenes produce bullets flying by and explosions in the back ground that gives you a feeling as being part of the movie. Scenes where the solders are laying in pitch darkness give you a feeling of uncertainty just as the solders would feel.
Over all I believe We Were Solders is an excellent movie that just does not detail the issues of war, but it demonstrates all effect of war and the people it hurts. Other movies such as Rambo mainly isolates on the action packed fighting scenes and does not give much detail on anything else. We Were Solders show how much courage the solders of both side gave in order to make their countries proud. At the end of this historic battle, both sides realize the death and destruction this war is going to cause.