It is somewhat ironic that Hollywood at the eve of US invasion of Iraq made one of the last major films dealing with another, earlier US military quagmire. That was We Were Soldiers, 2002 film written and directed by Randall Wallace.
The film is based on We Were Soldiers… and Young, 1992 book by US Army Lieutenant General Hal Moore and news reporter Joseph L. Galloway. The plot begins in 1965 when US government decided to assist its South Vietnamese allies in their struggle against Communist insurgents by direct military intervention on the ground. While most US military officers believes that the campaign will be short, simple and victorious, Lt. Colonel Harold Moore (played by Mel Gibson), commander of 1st Battallion 7th Cavalry Regiment, doesn’t leave anything to chance and mercilessly trains his men in jungle combat as well as new tactics based on use of helicopters. Such experiences will serve his battalion well when it conducts its first major action in Ia Drang Valley and suddenly finds itself surrounded by North Vietnamese forces five times their number. Those forces are commanded by Colonel Nguyen Huu Nan (played by Don Duong), very capable officer who in similar situation in 1954 massacred the French. Moore will have to use all of his skill and ingenuity in order to prevent 7th Cavarly Regiment to suffer the same fate it had under Custer’s command in Battle of Little Big Horn.
Randall Wallace, the author of the film, was best known as the scriptwriter of flag-waving militaristic spectacle Pearl Harbor, the main star was Mel Gibson, known for his right-wing views and the film was produced by Paramount Pictures, studio known its very close relationship with US military establishment. All that would suggest that We Were Soldiers is nothing more than typical Hollywood glorification of US militarism and ideological preparation for the grand mission of spreading democracy in Middle East. If that was the aim, it was relatively easy because the battle shown in the film occurred during the very start of direct US military participation in Vietnam War, when almost entirety of US public enthusiastically supported such endeavour, unaware of the devastating economic, political and cultural consequences of body bags being delivered to America by transport planes. Wallace, apparently aware that many would come to this conclusion, tries to disarm critics by giving more balanced approach towards Vietnam War and depiction of Colonel Nguyen Hoo An and his men as patriots, capable soldiers, brave warriors, loving fathers and husbands who are willing to sacrifice everything for something they believe in and the only unfortunate set of circumstances bring to the side opposing Colonel Moore and their American brothers in arms.
Wallace perhaps had good intentions at the end of the day, but his script was clumsy and his lack of directing experience quite visible. The latter can be observed in battle scenes (reconstructed at Californian locations) which are confusing and often interrupted with scenes of soldiers’ loved ones back home awaiting news about the battle and its outcome. Realistic treatment of combat is therefore mixed with eruptions of bathos and corniness and We Were Soldiers often loses its emotional impact. Poorly chosen music by Neil Glennie-Smith and Celtic ballads at inappropriate times also affect the general impression. We Were Soldiers convinced many that they would have wait for a long time before Hollywood makes another great film about Vietnam War, and perhaps even longer when it comes to films about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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