Cinema Review (From Barry And District News)

Cinema Review

MOVIE ICON Mel Gibson, has starred in a vast array of wonderful and dramatic films and now adds to his incredible list of compelling performances with the lead in We Were Soldiers.

The film focuses on an elite American combat division who are preparing to be air lifted to a valley called La Drang, close to the border of Cambodia.

Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) is the leader of the first battalion of the seventh cavalry and as they touchdown at landing zone x-ray, they are surrounded by thousands of Vietnamese soldiers. Over the course of the next few days the courageous men endure overwhelming odds as an intense and bloody battle begins to rage.

This savage encounter at what later became known as 'the valley of death' was the first major battle between American and north Vietnamese soldiers.

Julie, played by Madeleine Stowe, is Hal's devoted wife and mother to his children, and she and other wives left behind encounter their own personal hell as ominous telegraphs start arriving by taxi. She is disgusted by how unprepared the military are as the death toll rapidly rises, and she takes it upon herself to deliver the heartbreaking news with a little more compassion.

Scriptwriter/director Randall Wallace has created a movie that not only explores the personal struggles on the battle field, but also how the situation affects the families still at home.

We Were Soldiers is visually superb but quite harrowing at times. But by far the most outstanding aspect to this film is the characterisation; Mel Gibson and Madeleine Stowe give commanding performances, along with the wonderful supporting cast that includes Sam Elliot, Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper.