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| We Were Soldiers |
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  (9/10)
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Runtime: 135 |
| Public Rating: 7.56 (98 votes) |
Director: Randall Wallace |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: War/ Action/ Drama |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore & Joe Galloway (Novel); Randall Wallace |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Movieman |
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In the 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson called 75,000 to 125,000 American soldiers into Vietnam including the 7th Calvary lead by Lt.-General Hal Moore (Gibson; Braveheart) and his second in command Sgt.-Major Basil Plumley (Elliott; Tombstone). In a massive battle with the North Vietnamese army, Moore and his men stood tall in the face of hardships and death around them.
Black Hawk Down was a great war movie that taught what it preached, "Leave no man behind" and there was a lack of character development, it still was one of my favorites of 2001. But BHD pales in comparison to We Were Soldiers that features fleshed out characters, a balance of the war scenes with what was going on with some of the soldiers' families and superb acting from Mel Gibson, Greg Kinnear and Sam Elliott among others.
Mel Gibson proves time and again that he is one of the best talent who can make a movie with or without a good screenplay (e.g. Lethal Weapon 4) but give him a great screenplay, you get an Oscar caliber movie. Gibson's Moore character is heroic to say the least. With gun fire all around him, he stands up with his men with the promise he gave that he would be the first to step on and the last to leave. I admire Moore and could easily root for him from beginning to end.
The supporting actors do a fabulous job, no one more surprising than Sam Elliott who provides some comedy relief. One of the best lines of the film came amidst battle when Moore asks Plumley what Custard was thinking when he led his men into an ambush and Plumley replies: "Sir, Custard was a pussy. You ain't". This is just one of many lines Elliott provides for us. Sam Elliott is a great actor that gives his all in all his roles.
The others lend a helping hand to Gibson with Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein and Barry Pepper. These three actors have come off performances in Impostor, Rollerball, and the worst film of 2000, Battlefield Earth but have rid themselves of those turkeys. I already knew Stowe could act and Chris Klein showed some sparks in the American Pie movies, but Pepper as reporter Joe Galloway, proves he can take on a serious role.
We Were Soldiers was written and directed by Randall Wallace who was the man behind the Oscar winning film, Braveheart and the corny 2001 Pearl Harbor. This is his sophomore effort in the directing field, his first being The Man Behind the Iron Mask (which he also wrote). Wallace does a great job in both directing and adapting the novel by Hal Moore and Joe Galloway and he might've gotten a few awards if this was released in 2001.
I knew We Were Soldiers would be good but I never expected it to be so powerful and emotional at this juncture. It breaks the tradition of bad or below average flicks that tend to come out this time of year. It has already made my list for one of the best of 2002, which gives me hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg of great films for the year.
While Black Hawk Down concentrated almost solely on the brotherhood of the soldiers, We Were Soldiers explores each aspect of these soldier's lives. Both film showed the same thing when it came to the battle. Our men were in the midst of a war against really an enemy that was not easily predictable and despite that, some of them managed to get out.
One aspect of the film that is comparable to Pearl Harbor was Wallace's look through the enemy's eyes and showing that they were the same as our men. They had wives waiting for them, they were fighting because they were ordered (right or wrong) to fight and were willing to help their country in the cause. One thing stood out to me. Wallace compared the two leaders, and showing Moore out with his men fighting and giving orders and positions while his counterpart stayed in a tunnel and the give the orders while never taking out his firearm. When push came to shove and his back was against the wall, he retreated while Moore and his men waged on. I really loved this part of the story as it gave the film more depth.
Overall, this film had an emotional impact on me and made me realize (again) how important our soldiers are and the things they go through in battle, as they are all brothers. Just like the same message that Black Hawk Down sent, We Were Soldiers shows how close these men were and the love they had for each other in the midst of gunfire. It is a powerful motion picture event.
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