Tunnel Rats

Plot synopsis:
A group of US Army soldiers, trained in underground warfare, arrive at base camp in the jungle of Vietnam. The soldiers spend the first day and night getting to know each other. The next morning they begin to explore the Viet Cong's underground tunnel network at Củ Chi. Led by Lieutenant Vic Hollowborn (Michael Pare) along with Platoon Sergeant Mike Heaney (Brad Schmidt) Corporal Dan Green (Wilson Bethel) and Privates Peter Harris (Mitch Eakins), Carl Johnson (Erik Eidem), Terence Verano (Rocky Marquette), Jonathon Porterson (Garikayi Mutambirwa), Dean Garraty (Adrian Collins), Samuel Graybridge (Brandon Fobbs), Jim Lidford (Nate Parker) and Bob Miller (Jeffery Christopher Todd).
Armed with nothing more than bayonets, pistols, grenades and flashlights, the US soldiers take to the tunnels in a search and destroy operation, and begin to encounter dangers including primitive but lethal booby traps, such as punji sticks, grenades rigged with tripwire, as well as roving Viet Cong. Meanwhile, Garraty and Johnson are killed first, and later Sergeant Heaney and Verano are both killed as Green escapes, and up on the surface Harris and Lidford escape to the bottom of the tunnel, and Lidford is killed later on, Porterson successfully escapes through the tunnels. On the surface, the Viet Cong also attack the US base.
As things escalate above and below the ground, soldiers for both sides are pushed to the limits of their humanity. Miller and Graybridge try to escape, with the former barely making it, but Graybridge is killed. The events implicate that all (or almost all) the protagonists are killed by each other, by boobytraps, or by the airstrike ordered by the wounded US commanding officer Hollowborn, who called on it when everything seemed to have been lost. Green dies in the tunnels. Harris convinces Vo Mai (Jane Le) that he isn't a threat to her or her family. Porterson retreats to the surface and later meets Miller at the camp where many soldiers have been slaughtered by the NVA. Porterson and Miller witness the bombings and their ultimate fate or survival is left ambiguous. Harris and Mai try to dig their way out, slowly realizing they are both trapped with nowhere to go and had been left to die. They remain in the tunnels until the end of their days.

Tags: violence

Review:
Another unfortunate film meeting "we hate the director because the internet told us to" preconceptions, 1968 Tunnel Rats is a complete success in what it sets out to do - create an overwhelming sense of fear and claustrophobia.There are war movies, and there are horror movies.
In Uwe Boll's stunning "Tunnel Rats," the increasingly interesting (but still no less maligned) German director has made what essentially amounts to a chronicle of the madness of war told in a confined, claustrophobic, and frighteningly intimate way.
I feel sorry for those people because they will miss out on a great many interesting and even inspiring film experiences in their life time.Tunnel Rats is one such experience.
It seems he's brought about quite an aura for horrifically bad films, and yet there I was watching Tunnel Rats and genuinely thinking it was a good effort.
Well surprise, surprise Tunnel Rats is actually a damn fine effort and it proves people are willing to jump on certain critical bandwagons just as easily as people are willing to jump on positive bandwagons.The film succeeds in the sense it captures the madness of war as well as delivering scenes of strong, bloody violence that repulses more than it does excite as these various action set-pieces and scenarios play out.
Boll toys with the audience in this regard, using each respective 'space' as both a safe haven and a potential death trap at various times to really good effect.The team assigned to deal with this tunnel network share some thoughts and memories from childhood the night before they ship out to begin work.
Shooting in low light and keeping his camera rock steady as his subject scurries and struggles about erratically, we feel frightened when people venture into the unknown and horrified when altercation with the enemy arises.Boll even finds room to develop scenarios within the already established conventions by including the character of Vo Mai (Jane Le) as this frightened Vietnamese woman who lives within the tunnels with her two young children.
I didn't notice it beforehand, but there is a certain electronic pulsating sound effect/musical number that plays on a loop during this time, which really captures the horror and the suspense you're witnessing as people scrap for their lives – it's fascinating to watch.Whereas Michael Bay can just fetishise action and gunfire with copious amounts of explosions and slow motion towards the end of Transformers as that becomes even more empty headed; vacuous and nonsensical than it already was, and Stallone can offer nothing bar mere break-neck action as the baddies get their comeuppance toward the conclusion of Rambo IV, Boll shows us that war is, in fact, Hell and war-zones are places you really don't ever want to be.
The two respective films have high IMDb ratings close to '7'; Tunnel Rats has something bordering on '4' – looks like that Boll-hate bandwagon is in full runaway mode, whereas the Stallone/Bay-love bandwagon is on an equally slick streak.
many of the characters were still 2 Dimensional but the music,action,plot made up for many of the mistakes.Some war films about Vietnam show the power of the American army, but this film at least shows the Americans being kicked about which I have only seen in Platoon.Uwe Boll has made a film and it is not a bad film..
Writer/director Uwe Boll has created a film which is very simply about the futility of war, in this case, set in the jungles of Vietnam.North Vietnamese fighters dug tunnels, sometimes hundreds of miles long, in which they hid, lived, and carried out surprise missions against the Americans.
These young men, some barely out of high school, walk blindly into a world they've never known.The ensemble cast does what they need to do -- this is not as much of a character-driven piece as other films of this genre, and the improvised dialogue isn't Hollywood war movie fluff.
When controversial German director Uwe Boll (HOUSE OF THE DEAD) first announced that he wanted to shoot an absolutely uncompromising, blunt and brutal movie about the cruelties of the Vietnam War, not just a few critics shook their heads in disbelief and predicted a major failure on all levels as they just couldn't imagine that infamous filmmaker, who once knocked out four internet bashers in a boxing challenge, to tackle such a serious subject with the needed amount of tactfulness and sincerity.
And I gotta admit that even though I'm quite a huge fan of Uwe Boll's work, I personally wasn't 100% sure either what to expect from a project like this...But now that I finally got my hands on a DVD of said film and ultimately got to see TUNNEL RATS (I missed the flick's short theatrical run here in Germany), I can say with a clear conscience that all those badmouths were once again a bit too fast with their criticism and concerns, cause apparently TUNNEL RATS turned out to be a pretty neat and well-done war movie, whose intensity and brutality will not leave you cold.The film, which is set in the jungle of Cu Chi in 1968, tells the tragic story of a group of young American soldiers lead by the hard-boiled Sgt. Hollowborn (Michael Pare) who get orders to explore and secure a complex tunnel system which the Vietcong use to move through the jungle without being heard or seen.
As soon the GIs step down into the dark and narrow corridors, however, they gotta learn the hard way that their enemy is way more accustomed to the unusual surroundings and skilled in the antics of guerrilla warfare than they are and hence it doesn't take long until one GI after the other has to face a merciless death and the defeat of the whole platoon seems almost inevitable In an early interview, Uwe Boll once said that one of his main intents for TUNNEL RATS was to show the absurdity and senselessness of war.
And when they're left to die all on their own a thousand miles away from home, they don't feel like heroes at all and pride and glory are about the last things that they think of The whole pointlessness of war is a constant and reoccurring theme in TUNNEL RATS and just like war itself ain't exactly fun and enjoyment, this film is also far from being your typical good time bubblegum blockbuster TUNNEL RATS is very slow-paced, very raw, very dirty, very brutal, very pessimistic and very honest.
It surely lacks the epic proportions of "big" war movies such as PLATOON, APOCALYPSE NOW and FULL METAL JACKET, but it makes up for this with sheer intensity and a great dose of suspense; the latter being mainly the product of Uwe Boll making really good use of the perilous environment throughout the whole course of the movie.
Being more of light-hearted kind of guy, I have to say that I personally didn't enjoy TUNNEL RATS as much as I enjoyed Uwe Boll's action-packed, over-the-top no-brainers such as HOUSE OF THE DEAD, BLOODRAYNE and IN THE NAME OF THE KING, but this doesn't change the fact at all that TUNNEL RATS is still one of Uwe's most atmospheric and coherent films so far and definitely worth watching for all fans of unsparing war movies such as JOHN RAMBO and Co..
American soldiers must ignore the personal danger, and enter into this cramped, nightmare world loaded with booby-traps, Punji stakes, water traps and the fanatical resistance of North Vietnamese and Vietcong soldiers and irregulars.Generally armed only with .45 pistols and flashlights, the Americans must find and kill their enemies at arms' length range, then find a way to get around the dead bodies in the tunnels.The directors of this movie deliberately emphasized the smallness of the tunnels - the claustrophobic surroundings are pushed into the viewers' faces relentlessly, and virtually take over the entire story.
We get to know the characters, more or less, though to keep track of names might be fruitless; we know these people more by type or by personality (one very pleasant touch is that one of the real walking clichés in war movies- the guy who prattles on and just can't wait to get home to his mama or wife or whatever- not only doesn't get slaughtered the first chance it should happen, but he becomes a momentary bad-ass in hand-to-hand combat right in the s*** of things.The lack of characterization could be a much bigger flaw to contend with if it were a firm character piece.
And as part of Boll's ambition to twist the much done Vietnam-War film - a particular kind of war film sub-genre in some respects - most of the runtime is spent underground as the Americans and the Vietcong square off, in the dark, sometimes not knowing who is going to come upon the other.
It takes away the caring, democratic view of Americans and replaces it with the true fact that they're no better than the people they're shooting at, and when it comes down to it, it's up to the individual soldiers.The movie also shows the physical war amazingly.
At some point it almost borders on insult towards Americans in its ridiculous and unsentimental portrayal of its fighting men.If like me, you watched this film hoping for insight into this fascinating aspect of fighting in the Vietnam war, I suggest instead you read Mangold & Penycate's Tunnels of CuChi, its what Boll should have done..
They just hate it because it's Boll directing.I love his popcorn-flicks, but I love even more when he comes in to more darker territories and shows us what the world is about.The ending is dark and cynical, but probably more real than any other Vietnam-movie.
Some of this is likely due to simple lack of funding; the campsite so different from a Vietnam War era firebase for example, but many details; the Palestinian/Arab neck-scarves instead of Vietnamese ones (the real thing is readily available on Ebay) for example, to mention a flaw not yet noted on IMDb, seem like carelessness.Despite the many flaws however, the overall effect is not nearly as bad as to justify spoof awards, and some of (not all!!!) the acting is actually rather good.At any rate, even if mainstream film goers don't favor this production, collectors of silly and flawed scenes might be interested to note this film as containing, in one (or perhaps more, depending on where you draw the line) of the lessor scenes, a portrayal of Americans/Westerners as can't-hit-a-thing cannon fodder, easily gunned down.
This movie is a squandered opportunity.Uwe Boll apparently thought the best way to make a statement about the pointlessness of war was by making a pointlessly long, wound-inducing, brutally ugly and disturbingly unoriginal genre film.Here, the director had a chance to redeem himself after a series of flops and turds.
In Postal, at least, he showed some promise of not taking himself too seriously, and while the end result there wasn't exactly a good film, at least it was entertaining.But don't believe the hype.In Tunnel Rats, Boll is aiming for a serious, realistic movie.
Emotions are shown without preparation or care, and we are left without any means of relating to these cardboard figures - shadows, as they are, of American stereotypes.From the first action scene on, and all the way through the laborious tunnel sequences throughout the film to the final scene, the movie shows signs of some of the worst pacing and cohesion in recent memory.
I've certainly never been sent overseas into a war zone.However, throughout this movie I found myself constantly wondering 'Why are they doing that?' For example: Though it makes for better lighting for the actor-- While crawling around in a tunnel, full of hidden enemies, it doesn't seem like it would take much training to know that shining your flashlight in your face instead of down the tunnel, just doesn't seem very smart.Not to mention using a flashlight without a red filter(to preserve night vision) seems doubly not that smart.Or soldiers who have fought tooth and nail to survive, only to stand like they are watching fireworks while bombs land on their heads.The only movie I can think of that features such inept soldiers is the last Hills Have Eyes 2 remake, but they were just in training, which is where this unit should have been left..
The movie is set during the Vietnam war, and follows the fate of a group of soldiers who are sent out to hunt and kill underground Viet Cong.
Prolific German director Uwe Boll has become something of a spittoon for film-going audiences with his much-hated video game-based action and horror movies, such as House of the Dead (2003), Alone in the Dark (2005) and BloodRayne (2005).
I was skeptical about his Vietnam War tale Tunnel Rats when popping the DVD in the player last night, but in the end the atmospheric film proved out to be fairly enjoyable.The story is set in 1968 Vietnam where a platoon of American soldiers is clearing the underground tunnels that the Vietnamese troops use in their stealth missions and connections.
However, I don't think the charm of the film is really in character drama anyway (indeed, according to Boll there was no script and the actors improvised their lines); the story works much more effectively once the action gets going because it manages to not feel like a generic carbon-copy of the Rambo series like I was worried it would.The claustrophobic tunnels are lit extremely scarcely with yellow hand-held lights that make the underground scenes feel very atmospheric even if (or because) it is sometimes difficult to see what exactly is happening on the screen.
Besides the visuals, the subdued score by Jessica de Rooij also supports the mood well, beginning as little more than a compilation of ominous tones but ultimately turning into a pleasantly low-key accompaniment for the battles that could have easily felt overtly banal with more bombastic music.The best scenes are saved for the last: the agonizing, nightmarish crawls through collapsing tunnels, the encounter with a frightened Vietnamese family hiding underground and the explosion-heavy fights in the Army base are all fairly suspenseful and done in a less cartoony way than could be expected judging from Boll's earlier efforts (that is not to say Tunnel Rats wouldn't present a fair share of gory violence though).
The downbeat ending is left somewhat open but makes its point clear in an enjoyably laconic way.Although Tunnel Rats is not quite a masterpiece, it is a fairly well made war film and would surely have a higher user rating if Boll's name was not attached to it.
However, every drama Uwe Boll has done which I have seen, this and Heart of America, have been good movies worthy of some praise.Tunnel Rats is hard to watch.
I was against Uwe Boll making a Vietnam movie, because he's German, but I think he put more effort into the drama than Oliver Stone did with Platoon.
Yes, I'm well aware of Uwe Boll and his exploits, even though I had never saw one of his movies until Tunnel Rats, and no, I didn't go into this movie hoping for a great war flick that would stand up to the best of its genre peers.
I like how film directors work hard to try their best to re-create the horror and brutality of war.
And one by one they all face various deaths thanks to the assorted weapons at the hands of the Viet Cong which include knives, guns and a sharpened bamboo poll.Unlike most other Uwe Boll films, Tunnel Rats tries too hard to develop character amongst the actors in the platoon.
(also, many of the actors don't appear to have been trained how to engage the enemy, or how to hold and shoot their weapons as soldiers of the Vietnam war era would have been).This movie was a real disappointment, and once the war scenes began it started to feel a little bit like a slasher flick or a Vietnam version of Predator (except without the Predator).In the end it never actually informs the viewer about the history or complicated issues of the Vietnam war, and it doesn't work as an anti-war film either - if Uwe was really trying to promote an anti-war message then it gets lost in a never ending haze of graphic violence.If you want to watch a movie that gives a more balanced portrayal of both sides, along with some important insights into the Vietnam conflict, and at the same time portrays the true horror of the Vietnam war without dishonoring the men who were forced to fight in it, then give Tunnel Rats a miss and watch We Were Soldiers instead..
SPOILERS!Uncapie here!Let's spend a "Holiday In Cambodia" where the people dress in black.Okay, now before everyone gets on my ass, this is the best film Uwe Boll has written and directed.Yes, I'm serious."Tunnel Rats" is a powerful, well-written story about the little known group of American soldiers in Vietnam of the same name based loosely on elements from the "Tunnels of Cu Chi" and real-life events that took place there.The pre-credits sequence is intense.
It plays like a cross between "Firebase Gloria" and "Cube", because sooner or later most characters end up underground, fighting for their survival.The best I can say about "Tunnel rats", and the most accurate way to describe it, is to say it doesn't feel like an Uwe Boll movie.
Story of a bunch of US tunnel rats in Viet Nam over the course of a couple of days is a really good, really solid action film.
You watch the film because, like the men in the tunnel you don't know what is coming next.
Also it was funnier."Stoic" was shocking and heartbreaking, much more than "A Clockwork Orange"."1968 Tunnel Rats" was a better war film than "Full Metal Jacket".As you see, Uwe Boll is way more talented than Kubrick.