I keep finding out that there are Vietnam War movies I've never seen. That's probably because a lot of them aren't that good and are therefore obscure. Still, with a movie as bad as The Green Berets being well known, you'd think you'd have heard of them all.
This one was on cable, and I'd never heard of it, so I watched it.
It's pretty bad.
Filmed in 1988, it's apparently based on an actual memoir, but it sort of comes across as an effort to film something like Platoon, but where all the Americans are admirable and on a much smaller budget.
The basic plot follows a young officer as he tried to gain the trust of his men, a theme that's been filmed a zillion times. In this instance, the young lieutenant is assigned to an impossibly badly designed very tiny defense position out in the bush, whose only purpose is to guard a nearby village.
From the outpost, he leads patrols. He's always steadfast. Three career NCOs help him, the distrusting long time sergeant, the sympathetic Christian African American sergeant, and the battle hardened corporal. Back somewhere is his commanding officer, a rather old and crusty major. Officers occasionally pop in to check on the post. Pretty much 100% of the characters are cartoons. Eventually there's a climatic battle. . . like Platoon.
In terms of material details, the film isn't horrible, but like Platoon it features a CAR 15 in the hands of an NCO. Platoon seems to have created the myth that this was common. The same NCO carriers a very large frame revolver, which actually isn't impossible. All of the enemy combatants seem to be NVA regulars for some reason, although they're indicated to be VC regulars, which doesn't make any sense.
Not really worth watching.
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