ridiculous rating

How sad is this?

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

This movie begins with a Green Berets officer named "Colonel Mike Kirby" (John Wayne) receiving orders to put together a small team and relocating them to a hastily built garrison called "A Camp 107" which is located in the northern part of South Vietnam bordering both Laos and Cambodia. Also traveling with them is a reporter by the name of "George Beckworth" (David Janssen) who doesn't believe that the United States should be involved in this conflict and needs to see things first hand to ascertain the truth. But as convinced as he is nothing can prepare him for what he finds at "A Camp 107". Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film has more than its share of right-wing bias which is clearly demonstrated by its appeal to patriotism and openly promulgated by a "good guys versus bad guys" mindset. To be sure, there have been other films produced after this one which present a more left-wing view and they are often just as dogmatic in their perspective. Be that as it may, despite the obvious bias, this film contains a good amount of action, some decent comedy here and there and a rather touching moment at the end. That said, while this certainly isn't a great movie by any means, I thought it was still entertaining for the most part I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

I do not really understand the negative reviews and complaints. This is a 1968 movie, and you can't hold it against today's standards. I've seen war movies of later date that I couldn't even finish or were filled with impossible feats, turning it into a fantasy instead. Not so with this movie. So if you are one of those that only care about pretty girls and superhuman feats, I suggest don't bother watching. But if you like to see a old war movie with a honest script, then I say go watch it.Minus 2 stars for overly abrupt scene endings and starts, and minus 1 star for overall acting, I gave it 7 stars. The storyline pulls you in and doesn't let go until the last scene. I loved the "Ballad of the Green Berets" at the start and end. The movie definitely made a memorable impact on me, and even though it isn't perfect, I would watch it again. To me that's a good sign, and I'm inclined to call this a good "B" movie.And I have to mention the great performance of Craig Jue, "the little boy".---Points in other reviews:Critiques about 1968 special effects is idiotic.Comments about the rain scenes and seeing wet and dry areas on the ground with other people walking in sunlight not bothered by the rain is total nonsense. Just look at the sky and you'll see rain clouds everywhere. So even if the rain was artificial it looked okay to me.It was mentioned that the sun was setting in the east in the last scene. But who told you that was the east? Have you looked at Vietnam on a map? The south point has a coastline facing east, south, west and even north. Aside from that, the east coast is littered with bays facing all kinds of directions. The one at Vung Tau is almost about 20 miles across facing west. Studies have proved that the average human can only see up to 3 miles across the ocean while standing on the beach at an eye height of about 5-6 feet.And pro Vietnam war? How so? You mean to say that soldiers should simply refuse to follow orders whenever they see fit? How would you feel if your military would refuse orders to defend your country. Soldiers go where they're told, no matter what. If not, they wouldn't be of any use. Politicians carry the responsibility of an unjust war!

. . . to accept its first-ever losing war effort after more than 200 years of military success. Wayne and his family produce, direct, and star in THE GREEN BERETS (and they must have wished that they had written its title song, too, as there is not one mention of Barry Sadler in the opening or closing credits). In the first hour and a half of this flick, Mr. Wayne meticulously documents American War Crimes, such as using journalists and medics as artillery and riflemen. Wayne shows that GREEN BERET training is so pedestrian that any random middle-aged newspaper man can step into the front line and do at least as well as the guys "trained" at Fort Bragg, NC. It's no wonder that GREEN BERET base "#A107" fares little better than did the defenders of THE ALAMO (an earlier Wayne (flick), or that the Pre-teen girls trusting the BERETS with their safety are gang-banged to death by the enemy. In the final hour of BERETS, both of the comic relief squad members are killed, though just one of their bodies is actually recovered (Wayne depicts the BERETS as frequently abandoning their dead and wounded). It's too bad that John did not screen this film for his buddy, President Milhouse Nixon, as that may have stopped this Vietnam debacle five years sooner. Thank goodness we have Navy S.E.A.L.s today!

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that a Vietnam War movie starring and produced by John Wayne would be hugely pro war. Every time someone had anything to say, they came out in favor of the war. Sure, Charlie was ruthless, and the boogieman (commies) was everywhere, but to produce a war movie that shed not one drop of blood is a real stretch. Everything is so nice and neat. All brutality takes place off camera, and we listen to the stories of Charlie's ruthlessness. The one good thing about the film was seeing the versatility of the C-130.1968 also gave us Lee Marvin and The Dirty Dozen, and much better acting, with back up by John Cassavetes and Jim Brown.