Too much of everything

Perfect cast and a good story

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Watched this blindly knowing nothing about it and it wasn't too bad.Shot as a documentary, but it's not a documentary. All the story is completely made up and its about a camera man and a Lt. following soldiers out into the field on a mission. These soldiers are a tight knit group of green berets who do the dirty work most are scared to, but as you see as the film goes on these guys are as scared as anyone else is and they suffer and deal with the worst things the war has to offer. From casualties to killing men they have never seen, to surviving through the night this movie tells their tale.Writer/director Patrick Sheane Duncan did an extraordinary job here in my opinion. In his career he has touched on war before as well as music. His writing credits include Mr. Hollands Opus, Elvis the miniseries as well as A Home of our own. His direction here is meant to be that of a shaky nervous cameraman and one would expect to see a film like Cloverfield or Blair Witch BUT far from it, this movie does a perfect job of feeling like a documentary and feeling like a real motion picture at the same time. Not once was the camera shaky or hard on the eyes, it was very steady.The production here was well for a Vietnam movie, it was made two decades after the war but captured the essence well. The actors weren't familiar faces which helped with the documentary feel. All these men portraying soldiers did and a great job in my opinion.I liked a lot of things about the movie too, like how they showed the fear these men had, they didn't make them out to be arrogant heroes, they made them out to be honest and brave yet scared. Another good thing was race. In the field there is no black or white you are all brothers and this film touched on that nicely. I always find flaws in these movies and there were many little ones but it's to be expected. things like how well groomed these guys stayed and how clean their clothes were day after day, stuff like that does honestly makes me mad.The movie was good for a first watch, if you like dramas you will like it and if you like war movies it'll be a good one to check out. To me it did get extremely slow after the first ten minutes and didn't get laced with action until the last 30, which were great... 3 out of 10 stars.

I have never seen another movie presented in this way. The closest film presentation, similar to this, I can remember seeing before is the "You Are There" series, with Walter Cronkite, that we used to see in school during the 50's and 60's. I liked those and I liked this. I personally think this is a tremendously underrated film. In addition, this movie happens to be about my old unit (An Khe-1969). Many of the experiences presented are similar to what my experiences were at that time. This film paints a realistic picture of one segment of the war in Vietnam, and it is NOT a pretty picture. But, it very effectively demonstrates the closeness that develops among men in combat as well as the fear and drabness we lived with. It would probably be a good demonstration film for new military servicemen. I was cast back to that time. It was effectively presented and very well acted. The technical adviser did well because I saw no errors in techniques and equipment. If you want to see what recon could be like, see this film.

This low-budget movie packs a maximum impact. The cast of no-names eliminates the predisposition to the glorification of war associated with many big name "war" actors. I have rarely seen a film about small-unit dynamics as well done. Every part is well-acted. Of interest are the relationships between the draftees, the enlisted lifer, and the opportunistic Lieutenant. The tension, confusion, and boredom of combat operations is captured in excruciating yet tender detail. The film conveys a good sense of the terrible waste of the Vietnam war. This movie is down, dirty, and real. If you are a war film buff, this one is a must see!

A 1989 Vietnam War drama that does not work at all. With a story and dialog quite similar to the one found in Full Metal Jacket this movie seems meaningless. The acting is OK, but the lack of impressive acting is too great. Only minor scenes are exciting but mostly the movie is slow and uninteresting. Not recommended at all, not even if you are in to Vietnam movies. 2/10.