We Were Cheesy and Unbelievably Cliched

Rating: 1/10 (20 October 2002)

It's amazing how Randall Wallace just can't avoid creating a scene, in a script or behind the camera, without some element of cheese in it. This movie is no exception. Like his last directing effort, Man in the Iron Mask, We Were Soldiers pretends the audience are morons and riddles the entire movie with cliches and horribly concieved cheesy drama that puts even the most ridiculously contrived real-life-event TV movies to shame.

Yes, this movie is different from previous Vietnam war movies. The American soldiers aren't portrayed as violent grunts with no regard for life. They aren't protrayed as men who are scarred for life from the violence, the death, and the trauma of the war. This movie is really all about Mel Gibson and his ability to spout comically bad dialogue while maintaining a straight face and of course, the innocence of America... sort of like that last disaster he wrote, Pearl Harbor.
Could this movie have done better? I thought so. If Wallace would put his ego aside, and tone down the overabundant melodramatic scenes, Soliders could've scored big for me. Too bad that's all wishful thinking. The movie is bad, forgettable and our vets deserve better.
4/10