Simply Perfect

just watch it!

It is a performances centric movie

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Excellent movie . Don Johnson's outstanding performance is to be seen. The ending is a real surprise and demonstrates the depth of Don Johnson's character. His eloquent words in his defense about the men that served under him were tear inducing. It is a must-see. The weakest role appeared to me to be John Heard. The terror in young Don Johnson's eyes when in Vietnam was amazing. The scenes of the soldiers in Vietnam were so real I felt like I was there with them in the water etc.The dialog of Johnson's lawyer interrogating the witnesses was superb! I do not see the necessity of giving Sharon Lawrence such a "scandalous" past but it did demonstrate that for some people the past is is th past on not to be dwelled on because what counts is the present. See it now.

Before I saw the movie I had read several comments that Don Johnson does a superb job here as the main character, Benjamin Tyson, a former Army Lt who now is a well-off oil business man in Dallas. In fact Johnson does deliver a very fine, convincing performance. But that came as no surprise to me, having seen his excellent performance in "The Hot Spot" in a totally different type of role.Here he has a pretty good life, a loving wife, a teen son, a high-paying job, and an upper class home. But something hits the news that comes back to haunt him, and as it develops might send him to prison. A former medic in his squad, John Heard as medical Dr. Steven Brandt, has a terminal illness and decides to tell all about an incident where many died and a hospital was burned down. In it he implicates Tyson, claiming it was he who ordered that everyone be shot and killed.Jeanne Tripplehorn is good as Maj. Karen Harper of the Judge Advocate office, and ends up being the one to prosecute the case.Sharon Lawrence is fine as Tyson's wife, Marcy McClure Tyson. The young Tyson in Viet Nam is played by Don Johnson's real-life son, Jesse Johnson. And Arliss Howard is very effective as J.D. Runnells, the attorney defending Tyson.SPOILERS: The movie's title is actually the central theme. The whole group of survivors has given their word to each other, what happened in Viet Nam was never to be discussed. Tyson planned to stick to that word of honor, even though what was being said was not true. In a flashback we learn that Tyson did not order everyone killed, in fact it was one of his men who stared shooting everyone, and to stop him Tyson killed that man, one of his own men. But Brandt had misbehaved in Viet Nam, and had actually raped a 12-year-old girl. That Tyson way back then had called him on it, Brandt was making these false accusations to get back at Tyson. The Army used a never-before invoked rule that allowed Tyson to be re-activated, since he was getting disability medical pay. So they were able to have a court marshal. In the end he was found guilty of murdering his own man, but his punishment was being discharged from the Army. No jail time.

I had never heard of this movie but I'm a great fan of DeMille. I was totally blown away by Johnson's performance. He's way more believable than Sean Penn who always overacts. Johnson's performance is subtle even when he breaks down at the end. Great Great great. There's a great line in the film about the media being a giant conglomerate only interested in exploiting human tragedy for big bucks but calling it a search for truth.(Funny how apt this is with the NY Times looking into the adoption of Judge Roberts' kids) If this had been a feature film, I'm sure Johnson would have been nominated for an Oscar.The rest of the cast was so so but it doesn't make any difference. When Johnson is on the screen, the film is riveting. I also thought it was great that his son played him in the flashback scenes.

This is much more a man's movie with all the flashbacks of an episode in the Vietnam War. Don Johnson does an excellent job in the lead role and his son the same as a younger version of him. This should get his son many more offers of roles. I enjoyed it perhaps because of a chance to see once more the talent of Don Johnson in a good role. He has aged well since Nash Bridges. Good war remembrance movie, reminding us again how this war affected those involved, so many of them very young at the time.