A breath of fresh napalm in the Viet Nam film genre

Rating: Null/10 (24 April 2003)

A pumped up Mel Gibson, a group of desperate warriors, massively outnumbered and Scottish folk music. All that's missing is the blue woad. But no this isn't just Braveheart re-visited it's actually one of the best war movies I've ever seen. For a Englishman I have a healthy curiosity about the Viet Nam war and the films that have been made in it's memory. I love the OTT imagery and metaphor that make up Apocalypse Now and the pathos and tragedy of Platoon and the Deer Hunter. This movie has more in common with the John Wayne vehicle Green Berets although this is no weakness. It both celebrates the courage and challenges the waste of war. You get the perspectives of the women left behind and the VC in their network of tunnels. Everyone is losing something in this scenario, life, loved ones or honour. Gibson's character is almost too good to be true and that makes you believe in him - Hollywood would never make up a character like this. This means though that you do care and even though the body count gets very high indeed in the extremely well presented battle scenes it never becomes gratuitous. This is a balanced war movie that actually cares about the story behind the battle. It's well made, acted, scored and feels real enough top make you cry, cringe and laugh. A recommended and sorely under-rated film.