We Were Soldiers (2002)

I think you oughta get yourself an M-16. – Lt. Colonel Hal Moore

Sir, if the time comes I need one, there’ll be plenty lying on the ground. – Sergeant Major Basil Plumley

Number of Times Seen – At least 3 times (Theater in 2002, 5 Jul 2009 and 7 Jun 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A retelling of the first major US battle in Vietnam when a company of soldiers from the US Air Cavalry are the first to engage the enemy.

My Take on it – As a former Infantry soldier (who thankfully never saw real combat), I am always amazed by war (actually anti-war) movies that take their time to show us the real depiction of war is hell.

This is a movie not unlike Black Hawk Down (2001) or Saving Private Ryan (1998) which puts the audience in the thick of battle and we get to feel the fears of the soldiers as they must deal with the chaos of being in the middle of a firefight with a deadly enemy.

The way this movie was shot makes it feel so realistic when dealing with both the battle front and the homefront and we feel the anguish and pain of everyone involved.

The cats is unbelievable here and I think this was probably Mel Gibson’s final great movie after being able to thoroughly entertain us all during the 80’s and 90’s.  Since he made this movie, he hasn’t been considered much of a Hollywood player and hasn’t been a part of any other amazing movies.

Along with Gibson, we get Sam Elliott, Madeline Stowe, Chris Kline, Greg Kinnear, Keri Russel, Barry Pepper, Ryan Hurst, Jsu Garcia, Jon Hamm, Clark Gregg and Dylan Walsh among others giving great realistic portrayals of the men (and women) they honor here.

So much care was taken to make this movie as real as possible and the end result is worth watching especially because of that.

Bottom Line – I’m a big fan of this movie because like all good (anti) war movies, they make it so realistic that the viewer feels the fear and hell of battle. Amazing cast helps make this even better.  This was probably Gibson’s last great movie after doing so well in the 80’s and 90’s.  Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Although many of the names are never really seen or said throughout the movie, very careful attention was paid to ensure every member of the company was represented properly in the film. For every person that was a member of the company in real life, there was an actor on screen, most of which resembled the actual soldiers themselves. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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