Product: Casualties of War [UMD for PSP] (1989)
Rating: 3.0
NOT ALL IS FAIR IN WAR..
I'm probably far too jaded with war movies to idolize the supposed intensity that this Vietnam clunker packs. It cannot dream of holding a candle to Platoon or Saving Private Ryan, but if this is your first in the war-is-literally-and-viscerally-hell genre, be prepared to be engaged.The story line is harrowing -- four misguided American GIs in the Vietnam war get all worked up and rape+murder a woman prisoner. The fifth GI, a "good one" (played by an unwittingly chocolate-boyish and out-of-place M.J. Fox) is more moralistic than the four, which soon morphs into a game of libido versus ethics.The overall effect is a mixed bag. Confrontations between commanding officers and soldiers are effective, despite their sketchy outcomes. Fox also delivers an atrocious holier-than-thou speech around the middle. The ending resolution is patchy and forced, which makes one wonder if the movie should perhaps have simply recorded the incident and ended as the group returned to base.Barring Sean Penn's hearty attempts at a Bronx accent and the essence of conscience that permeates the film, there really is rather sparse material to base my recommendation on. Probably worth a go for the ensemble cast, but De Palma has certainly done a lot better.