HugeReviews.com Reviews:
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February 25, 2007 by Joe De Matteo
HUGE
I keep the TV on, mute, in my office all day;
it's tuned to the Fox News Channel, or CNBC if the
coverage on FOX is a rehash of some Bull@#%# story.
I check the screen every now and then for late
breaking news or a pretty face (it gets lonely in my
office).
Yesterday when I looked
up I saw the President speaking behind a podium and
turned up the volume. It turned out that he
was presenting a Vietnam veteran with a
Congressional Medal of Honor. Well, I've never
seen that before.
Now the way he did it,
and this may be the way ever CMH is presented, the
President read off exactly what this helicopter
pilot did to deserve the medal. Man, what a
story. And it sounded familiar to me.
The incident happed 41 years ago, the pilot, Bruce
Crandall, just turned 74. He was standing
there, tall and looking like a John Wayne type hero
- only he is the real deal.
If you'd like to get an
idea of what he did, pull "We Were Soldiers" off
your DVD shelf and watch the whole thing. Greg
Kinnear, one of best actors around, portrays
Crandall in the film. (READ
THE AP STORY by PAULINE JELINEK)
We have to thank Randall
Wallace for writing the screenplay and directing
this fine film, and
Mel Gibson for producing (Icon Entertainment
International) and starring in it.
But most of all we must thank and salute. Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore
(Mel
Gibson portrays the then Lt. Col Hal Moore).
General Moore lived it and wrote about it in
his best selling book, We Were Soldiers Once...And
Young. This is an excellent book; a must
read for any war enthusiast, as well as those lovers
of interesting non-fiction. The
screenplay is a fun read, as well.
Our hats are off to Maj.
Bruce Crandall, and we here at HugeReviews.com say,
thank you for your outstanding service.
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Harrowing:
We Were Soldiers
by Christian
De Matteo
HUGE
I
will freely admit I have teared up during war
movies before.
Saving
Private Ryan, Platoon, any film where
innocence is lost and death is found saddens me
greatly. But
never, never before have I found myself tearing up
when the battle began.
Usually the battle is such a blitzkrieg of
action that one can either not help but be caught
up in it if it is good (Braveheart) or get lost and lose interest if it is poorly done (Gladiator). But from the first volley in the Valley of Death, I was
aghast with horror at the undeniable evil that men
can commit upon each other, at the horror that is
war and the brutality of it all.
Now,
I am no weak stomached hippie, not by far.
I understand the reality that lead men to
war, and while I don’t like it, understand that
it happens and either both sides must fight, or
one be destroyed. Yet still, I have always been struck by the fact there are
people, countries and groups that welcome it, that
walk willingly into it, and more often, that cause
it. Why?
Soldiers
does a brilliant job of walking us into the
history of the debacle that was Vietnam, not
overwhelming us by any means, but giving us just
enough of the politics to understand that A) the
politicians blew the war and B) a lot of our young
men died for nothing and their ultimate sacrifice
was even scoffed at home.
And this is enough.
The
movie is intense.
The movie is graphic.
The movie is brutal.
This is not one for those with weak
constitutions for either gore or emotional trauma. Director Randall Wallace (writer of Braveheart
and The Man
in the Iron Mask, as well as some version of Pearl
Harbor that they didn’t release but instead
released a soap opera type piece of crap) films in
a sort of documentary style (look out for the
blood on the camera lens), but also spends some
time back home with the wives as they receive nice
form telegrams informing them of their husbands’
deaths. Combined with the death you get to witness, the scenes with
the wives is frankly almost unbearable.
Madeline Stowe (12
Monkeys) is phenomenal as Mel Gibson’s wife,
bringing strength and a real roller coaster of
emotion to the role.
Mel Gibson is astounding. With a slight southern accent that he handles rather nicely,
he is not any character he’s ever played before,
nor is he Mel Gibson.
He is Moore and he is powerful.
His dedication for his men is witness on
every inch of his face ten times more than in
anything he says.
He plays the role as father to the boys, a
man of compassion but also of purpose, a man with
belief but also of questions.
His performance is everything the part
should be and it is incredible.
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DVD
We
Were Soldiers
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Sam
Elliot (The Big Lebowski and almost every western ever made) does a good job
as an example of a rather one-sided military man.
This
is not an easy film and it couldn’t be further
from being an “escape flick”. This harsh, horrid reality at its very worst and it
will stay with you long after you see it.
This is not a date movie, this is barely
even a discuss over coffee and a piece of pie at
the diner after movie.
It’s a go back home and ruminate or try
to forget afterwards movie… and you won’t be
able to do the latter.
The film is important in so many ways, and
the very, very ending speaks volumes.
DVD: This is a must for your War movie
collection. Excellent. Wonderful.
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by Joe De Matteo
HUGE
We Were Soldiers is a remarkable
film on so many levels, and that is a
testament to Randal Wallace and Harold
Moore.
This is truly a human story. There
is not character development here, such
as we would imagine in the telling of a
story; what we have in We Were
Soldiers is the telling of a true
story about real people, by storytellers
who were determined to get it right.
Screenwriter/Director Randal Wallace was
resolved to tell the true story, and did
everything he could to get the true
story told.
The excellent documentary of the making
of this film, Getting it Right
(included on the DVD) shows us how the
actors interacted with the people whose
lives they portray. Great job for
the actors, however, it was the work of
Randal Wallace and Harold Moore that
made that happen. They got the
access to the people whose story was
being told. The soldiers and the
women they left to go to war.
The cast has done an extraordinary job
in bringing the characters and their
actions of 35-years ago to us in such a
moving way. This is drama, made
more dramatic because it is actual and
true. The cinematographer and the
special effects people and every other
specialist that put this film together
under the direction and oversight of
Randal Wallace has done work that they
can be proud of. We Were
Soldiers is one of the most re-watchable
war films of all times. It is a
true classic.
A word about Mel Gibson. Gibson
has portrayed quite a number of strong,
determined men in his career, and he has
made each of them a unique character.
Mel Gibson is not only one of the finest
film makers of our time, he is in the
top few great actors. You will
never confuse Hal Moore with Benjamin
Martin (The Patriot), or Benjamin Martin
with William Wallace (Braveheart).
He is always in the top three of both my
favorite filmmaker list and actor list.
Bravo.
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We
Were Soldiers
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