This is a thing unheard of for me, the other reviews I've written, I had a clear outline of what I wanted to do, but with We Were Soldiers, I'm not entirely certain where to begin. The Vietnam War became truly controversial with the American public once they got wind of what some our troops were doing to the people in Vietnam, but I digress. The main purpose of our going to Vietnam was to stamp out Communism. We failed. But the truth is never that simple. As to WHY we failed, the answer is much more complicated, and I really won't go into it here. Let's just say, by the end of the Vietnam War, over 58,000 American troops lost their lives. We Were Soldiers takes a look at one of the first major battles of the war, the Battle for Ia Drang Valley in the highlands of Vietnam.
Lt. Col. Hal Moore was brought in to test new military tactics to use against the enemies of the United States. He and chopper pilot, Maj. Bruce Crandall helped usher in a new method of transporting soldiers to the battlefield. Later, Col. Moore and company are given orders to go to Vietnam. I'm oversimplifying the story, but the film was based on the book that was written by Hal Moore himself, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young." The story is really good, and as it progresses, it shows the consequences of war, on all sides, the American soldiers, the Vietnamese soldiers, and the wives of the American soldiers. When Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, enters the film, he's a father and a husband, and very likable, even the soldiers under his command respect him a great deal. Moore is also a brilliant battlefield tactician, which is one of the reasons he was recruited for testing new methods of warfare. Mel Gibson as Hal Moore is nothing short of genius, as he lends a major presence and some humor to the role, but also gets very serious when he needs to, particularly during the battle. He's very effective. Greg Kinnear as Maj. Crandall is also very good. Sam Elliott is...well....Sam Elliott, what more can I say about the man, he commands the screen almost as much as Mel Gibson. His turn as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley, is what you'd expect from Sam Elliott: Gruff, hard-ass, and a damn good shot with a pistol.
The battle scenes in We Were Soldiers are very intense, and can get really gruesome at times, which helps making the scenes that more realistic. But the scenes that really tugged at my heartstrings didn't take place on the battlefield, but back in America when the wives get word that their husbands were killed, it really hits home about the consequences of war. When Julie Moore(Madeleine Stowe) is approached by a stranger from a taxi cab holding a telegram, she lashes out at him, because she thought her husband was killed. Turns out, the telegram was for someone else. And cab guy says, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I don't like this job, I just have to do it." And that I think really nails it about war and duty. I honestly, don't know if I could handle a job like that, I don't think I could. Not emotionally. I can't even imagine. Julie then asks the cab company to hand to her all the telegrams of the soldiers that have died. That particular scene and sequence is very poignant, and really drives home the consequences of war and the toll it takes on not just the soldiers and wives but the people who have to deliver the message. The rest of the film takes place on the battlefield The war is being photographed by a journalist, Joe Galloway(Barry Pepper), who is thrust into the war, and is eventually forced to pick up a weapon himself and fight. Barry Pepper brings an earnest look at someone who wants to try to understand a war, and help the American people understand it.
The performances in this film were just fantastic, from Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott to Madeleine Stowe, it really helps bring an emotional and realistic feel to a film such as this, which is primarily a war film. Now, the film takes place in 1965, before everything really went to hell, so it manages to avoid dealing with hippies. This is a film about the soldiers, and their fight for each other, because on the battlefield, that's all they had. The war scenes were incredible, with the American soldiers going up against the seasoned Vietnamese soldiers. You've got big explosions and gunfire just tearing up the place.
I'm reviewing the Blu-Ray release of the film, and visually it's very sharp, but then I don't really have an eye for the exact details, I just know it looks good. Audio-wise, this one is amazing, especially during the battle sequences. Gunfire, explosions, airplanes, choppers going on all around you, it makes you feel like you're there in the midst of all that chaos. It's really well done.
I'm nitpicking, but I think the film went on a little too long at 138 minutes. It does drag in certain places, but overall the pacing is still pretty good. The action gets intense and doesn't let up until the film is almost over. I can't really attest to the historical accuracy of the film as I'm still fairly unfamiliar with the battle that it portrays. The film doesn't really have an overall message about the meaning of war, if it's good or bad, no. We Were Soldiers tells the story of a group of soldiers who were willing to put their lives on the line for each other. I give We Were Soldiers 9.5/10.
War is an ugly thing, and the Vietnam War was as ugly as it gets. With 58,000 American lives and 3 to 4 million Vietnamese lost, the toll that war takes on people is truly horrific, and not just on the battlefield. I hoped that some of us would've learned from the past, but it appears that we haven't. Or ever will.
