the glory and the horror of war all wrapped into one

Rating: 8/10 (18 March 2005)

Fantastic. The tail of the 1st major American battle in Vietnam. Extremely well written script. Perhaps the best Vietnam movie ever written. Most movies only tell things from one side. some show two sides if the script is decent. This movie shows this point of view of this time from three different perspectives. one part is the US soldiers point of view. Mel Gibson does a wonderful job in his acting in this film. Watching Mel question his own orders, then watching him give orders himself and then wonder if they were right shows a scene few movies have ever reached upon. Vietnam wasn't a well received time period in the US history. This movie shows soldiers dealing with each other, becoming more than just platoon buddies. The next point of view was the point of the wives of the US soldiers. When their men had left, they stayed strong. Madelaine Stowe plays a perfect wife in this film. You can actually see and feel her heartbreak as she lets her new found friends know their husbands had died. The final point of view from this movie was the VC point of view. the Colonel of the VC army,played by Don Duong is a wonderful job. This movie has other actors in it that most will recognize .Chris Klein does a wonderful job as a new father and husband off to war for the 1st time. Kerri Russel totally escapes her "Felicity" role as she portrays a young mother who loses her husband but remains a loyal friend. Sam Elliott plays a tough old SGT out to keep his Colonel alive. IN his older years now, Elliot often lands roles needing a mature strong man, and he does it well! The final actor in this movie most will know is Greg Kinnear. Escaping his comedy roots, Greg plays a wily helicopter pilot. Kinnear doesn't say much, but his acting is a nice job in this story. The finest acting in this film in my opinion though is Barry Pepper who plays the Newspaper man. He comes from a military family but wants to understand the war so he acts as a novelist. Seeing the anguish Pepper goes through as he figures out he either starts killing or ends up being killed is tough. Watching him wonder what is going to happen next almost makes you feel as if you are there with him yourself. a fantastic movie. lot of action and blood,so if your not into that, this movie isn't for you. But a very well directed, acted and written movie, the best I have seen in a long time!