We Were Soldiers
	Rated: R
	Runtime: 2hr 17min
	Starring: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear, Chris Klein, Keri Russell
	MFG Rating: 3/5

Based upon the book written by the real Lt. Col Harold Moore, We Were Soldiers is not your ordinary beer drinking, drug using, and The Doors listenin’ Vietnam War flick. LTC Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) is a Harvard grad/war hero that leads a brigade of Army Rangers into the heart of the Vietcong in the first days of the War. The soldiers are transported via helicopters making the harrowing journey from the base to the fighting and back; each trip bringing supplies and ammunition to the battlefield, and bloody casualties back to the base.

The film is told from three points of view; the movie not only follows Moore’s troops but also the soldiers’ wives back in the States, and the Vietcong. Randall Wallace (writer of Braveheart) is an expert at creating viewer empathy; the death of a soldier is made personal by the wives delivering the Army’s telegram to the soldier’s family.

In the enemy’s eyes, we see the enemy commander scheming the Rangers’ demise, and an interesting parallel of a Vietcong solider who too has a worried consort-being one of the few Vietnam War films to cast a positive light on the enemy.

What I enjoyed most was the military strategies of both the Rangers and Vietcong. The battle is one massive chess game where the pieces are the movement of troops, usage of artillery, and of course the element of surprise. The special effects of F4 fighters dropping huge-ass napalms and artillery shells on enemy targets are nothing like I’ve ever seen. The bullets hitting the soldiers are disconcertingly awesome as well.

Unfortunately, the film could not avoid a few uses of annoying clichés of popular slogans and issues. While some catchphrases, such as, “No man will be left behind” is tolerable, but the insertion the Whites’ naïveté towards racial discrimination (I don’t want to give it away. You’ll know what I mean) seemed manufactured and downright stupid. In general, paying $8-$10 for a We Were Soldiers ticket will not leave you disappointed. If you plan to see the names of LTC Moore’s dead Army Rangers, it is on the third panel of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. However, I must warn you that the number of weirdo's around the Washington and Vietnam Memorials from day to night grows exponentially.

- Eric