(rated R, 2 hrs. 35 mins.)
Based upon the book by Lt. General Harold G. Moore and re-teaming director/writer Randall Wallace of “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson, this is boot camp, 1964, long before Americans had a sour taste in their mouths over Viet Nam. Lt. General Moore (Gibson) is a conservative, suburban, Catholic father of five about to lead a battalion of men into battle. His wife (Madeline Stowe) along with other women, fear losing their husbands as the war parallels fathering babies with taking lives. Moore, a history buff, reminisces that the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry is the same regiment as General Custer’s, This battle feels like Little Big Horn all over. Like “Black Hawk Down” the message seems to be that these men fought not for their country but for each other. But unlike recent war flicks, this story stands out because it’s the first major encounter of American Soldiers with North Vietnamese. In its old-fashioned approach, these men have faces and families we come to know. Yet, in its attempt to be all these things it comes off almost sappy despite Sam Elliot’s portrayal as deadpan, crusty and stern Sargeant Plumley and Greg Kinnear’s skillful interjection of humor into war. Gibson holds his own as America’s patriotic sweetheart with his camera-close-up chiseled jaw. It’s not a bad movie; it’s just a movie about men trying to survive. And, it just may do that.
