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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I have talked about my dad being drafted and fighting in the Vietnam War a few times. I spoke about how at 18, he joined the Marine Corps and when his platoon was ambushed and how he and his friend survived in the jungle for 63 days. Straight up brutal and mind-blowing when you think about it. This time, I want to talk about my high school U.S. History teacher. I can’t remember his name, and I wish I could remember his name, but he was one of the first men to fight in the Vietnam War. He told us stories about his time and some of the battles he fought. One of the films he showed in class was We Were Soldiers. A film about the first U.S. battalion led by Lt. Col. Hal Moore and the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965. Whether people supported or hated the war, one must still appreciate the men who fought and died in this war that maybe the U.S. really didn’t need to be in.
We Were Soldiers is a 2002 American war film based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, from their times during the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965. The movie dramatizes the training and war of America’s first troops into the Vietnam War. In 1954, the United States had decided to enter the war and prepares to send its troops into South Vietnam’s green Central Highlands. They decide that the best person for the job is commander and seasoned paratrooper, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Moore (Gibson). A man who has studied warfare all his life prepares to lead young men of the First Battalion of the Seventh Air Cavalry into the war’s first major ground battle since the Korean War. Moore, along with Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley (Elliott), drills their men from jumping from a helicopter to ground warfare. Moore knows this will have a fight on his hands. As Moore reports in Vietnam, he learns that he will only have four hundred soldiers at his disposal. In contrast, American intelligence has no idea how many enemy soldiers there will be. As Moore’s battalion deploys and lands at their point of attack, they find a scout and soon learn that they are against a North Vietnamese infantry division of four thousand men. We Were Soldiers shows Moore’s soldiers fighting in Ia Drang Valley, or the Valley of Death, during three days of bloodshed. We Were Soldiers displays the patriotism of the men who fought, died, or were wounded at the battle and names who will like on forever on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
We Were Soldiers maybe isn’t close to the level of Apocalypse Now or Platoon, but it is still a decent Vietnam War film. First, we get this intense scene in 1954 where a French unit on patrol during the First Indochina War is ambushed by Viet Minh forces. Many people were getting shot, but most people forgot that the U.S. got involved eleven years later.
The film’s first half shows U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore being chosen and training a battalion and the lead up to his men going to war. Many films don’t show how real things the situation is about to come. One of the scenes that stood out to me during the training is how Moore wanted everyone to know their role. When the helicopter arrived, and he mocked shooting the commander, he asked the others what they should do. After several mistakes, he became blunt and said many would die. Another scene during the training was Moore telling his men that they must always be calm in the situation as explosions will happen around them. The scene with the wives sitting around speaking is another one that was nice to have because we see a different take. I like how Moore’s wife stood up for the black wife and was upset because she believed everyone who fights for the country should be on equal footing.
Now the second half of the film is excellent. Not as intense as other war films, but it tries to do an equally good job. When Moore and his men arrive, he sees that he gets some of that bullshit and is ordered to take only 400 men and attack and destroy the North Vietnamese attackers, but the intelligence has NO idea the enemy strength and soon learn they are up against a veteran North Vietnamese army division of 4,000 men. Now I don’t know about you, but the one stupid thing was when that one patrol chased the enemy soldier. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Basic war 101, don’t run into a place that you don’t know, and that is when shit hit the fan, and the war intensity rose to OH DAMN levels. It was entertaining to the Americans surrounded on all sides and fight their way back. MOORE was a badass as he kept his cool. What I like about this film’s war scene is that it was straight war and didn’t let up. At night, they fought. In the morning, they fought. It was a constant strategic war game. Now the scene that was like we were in a new age was the freakin Broken Arrow scene. When Moore called that in, and the napalm dropped, you knew terrible things were going to happen. The skin falling off will make you sick.
The music of this film is also a strong point. The music is harrowing as it just gives you a sense of pain and death coming. Sometimes it was hard to watch because of the scene but nothing on the level that will make you scared to watch the film. It is high-quality war music.
I like the journalist scene, but that whole montage of him taking pictures seemed to be out of place. I get why it was there, but it was just off. I think the scene where Moore’s wife delivers K.I.A letter is strong but could’ve been stronger. There were a lot of expressionless faces. I wanted to see full-on tears and people falling to the ground in absolute sadness.
Mel Gibson as Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Hal Moore was strong. Was this his best role ever? Naw, but it was decent. I think he embodied Moore as a person who has seen action and a true leader. I like how his character kept his promise as being the first on the battlefield and the last off the battlefield. I really like him because no matter how many times the command asked him back to base, he stated he would never leave his men behind. Another character that I loved is Sam Elliott as Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley. Elliott just has a great way with words and sounding like a true badass. I love the scenes where one of the men walks to him and says good morning, and he gives one of the most negative answers. Loved how he just wanted his handy pistol.
Is We Were Soldiers one of the best Vietnam War films ever made? I would say no, but it is an entertaining film. The war scenes are bloody but nothing on the level of like a Saving Private Ryan. It’s not as intense as Apocalypse Now, but it still does its job. Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott are great in their respective roles. Watch this movie during Veterans, Memorial Day, or the 4th of July, and give your armed forces some love.
