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We Were Soldiers
2002
In 1965, 400 American troops faced an ambush by 2,000 enemy troops in the Ia Drang Valley (also known as the Valley of Death), in one of the most gruesome fights of the Vietnam War. WE WERE SOLDIERS is a detailed recreation of this true story--of the strategies, obstacles, and human cost faced by the troops that participated. .. Read more
| Starring | Mel Gibson, Madeline Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott |
|---|---|
| Director | Randall Wallace |
| Run time | 133 mins |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This formulaic, gung-ho war drama is based on the bestselling memoir by war correspondent Joseph Galloway and Lt General Harold G Moore, who led a battalion of the Seventh Cavalry into the first major confrontation of the Vietnam War in November 1965. Randall Wallace's second film as director is an overlong account of how Moore's men stood their ground in the Ia Drang river valley against overwhelming numbers of North Vietnamese soldiers, but this is no American equivalent to Zulu. Instead, the film earnestly treads familiar ground as Wallace manipulates the audience between violent action, sentimental pep talks and scenes from the homefront as the telegrammed notices of death begin to arrive. This is a straightforward tribute to the fighting man, devoid of political comment or historical background and with no real characterisation — although Sam Elliott does wonders with his few lines as Moore's second in command. Mel Gibson is mesmerising as the valiant Moore, but this is a portrait of war in the style of The Green Berets rather than Platoon and his role is too flawlessly heroic to ring entirely true.
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A movie of old-fashioned gung-ho heroics, with Gibson in long-shot looking remarkably like John Wayne; it's convincing on the thud and blunder of battle, though otherwise seems advance propaganda for the next World War.
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Most helpful member's review
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30 out of 41 people found this review helpful
NOT Full Metal Jacket
We were soldiers is a dire piece of work. I have several problems with it:
1. Hypocrisy. Lt. Col. Hal Moore is depicted as a devout Christian. What happened to ‘Thou shalt not kill’?
2. Believability. Mel Gibson looks far too old to play the role he did.
3. Portrayal. Why do so many films show Americans as tactless, nonsensical trigger-happy idiots. They’re not ALL like that………surely. If this is the way Americans behave in real combat it’s no wonder the keep killing themselves.
This is just a total load of rubbish
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- JediSi
- Posted 25 Sep 2007 22:06
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Beautifully moving
This invoked a whole host of emotions when I watched it - hope, grief, anger, sorrow, joy ..............
There were scenes where I had a real lump in my throat and scenes that made tears come to my eyes, despite me not often crying at movies.
Every single actor and actress in this that had more than a passing scene made you empathise with them, even if you weren't particularly fond of them.
It's a movie that forces you to think and towards the end, it also focuses on the after effects of characters that you don't actually see much during the main bulk of the movie, such as Beck. You see him push his friend's wheelchair down the corridor and as he does, the emotional turmoil of what he's been through is obvious and you know that his experiences are going to be with him for the rest of his life, as it will for all of the other soldiers and their families.
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- desmondsdoll from Stockport
- Posted 13 Jul 2008 14:15
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