We Were Soldiers DVD

Average Rating:

Mel Gibson plays Hal Moore, who was at that time a Lt. Col and Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry which is the unit involved in the battle.

The battle scenes are the most realistic I have ever seen. The violence and gore is neither amplified for effect nor toned down to avoid shocking or offending. The North Vietnamese are presented as competent hard-fighting advesaries which adds to the realism and the sense of "being there".

The effect of the loss of life in the battle to the families is brought home with great power by scenes back at Fort Benning, the battalion's home garrison, involving the wives, particularly Col Moore's wife. During one scene, I could hear crying throughout the theater.

The movie does not attempt to rehash the tired political arguments about whether we should have fought in Vietnam. Instead it portrays the effect that decision, once made, had on real people in the military and their loved ones. I have seen nothing that does that better.

I most strongly recommend this movie to anyone. It is a great war movie for those who like that genre and it is a great "people movie" for those who generally don't see war movies. I believe anyone who sees it will not quickly forget it.

The emotion that's in this movie can't be beaten. And I think it's one of the best films released this year - Mel Gibson's performance as Lt. Col Moore is amazing and should be Oscar nominated.

I also loved the narration in the movie. It's true that Vietnam wasn't a popular war and the soldiers that gave their life and the ones that made it and ones were injured - in fact were rarely shown as heroes as they fought the war that no one else wanted to fight.

The war scenes are amazing - you can see the bombs coming down, soldiers on both sides being killed and the ones that were badly injured.

The camera work on this film was one of the best I've seen in such a long time. And the movie ends with a touching tribute to the soldiers that gave their lives.

Also the film goes between the US Army, the Vietnamese soldiers and the wives at home - especially when Madeline Stowe who plays Gibson's wife and Keri Russell handing out telegrams to widows of the soldiers.

This movie shouldn't be missed and is Oscar caliber.

The typical Hollywood "We American nice, you enemy bad" black and white boring nonsense is toned down in this movie. (Some movie direcotrs just don't understand that the main characters are only great if the enemy is a worthy opponent) Of course we still identify with Lt. Col. Moore & American side, but the film sort of give you an idea of what it's like for the other side.

Mel Gibson is a good actor as always, this one reminds me of his Braveheart performance (In case you have been living under a rock, Braveheart is also a good flick, if not historically accurate). The story of We Were Soldiers starts out a bit slow, but in the process you get to understand the character more, not a bad trade off.

The war scene is a bit confusing, but that's how the war is supposed to be anyways. I think the director does the good job conveying what's happening thru Lt. Col. Moore & enemy General's commands & tactics. You could kind of understand what's going on even if you are not a military fan (Heck, if my "I-like-Britney-Spear" friend could grasp most part, you should be able to, too. And NO, I didn't have anyone else to go with at the time).

In sum, I highly recommand it. I will definitely consider buying the DVD when it comes out, if the price is right (Hey I know I am a cheapskate, but some DVD are just tempting... we'll see =p ).