| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A- |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Full of Misery and Jokes
by Rapist6 (movies profile)
May 13, 2007
12
of
14 people found this review helpful
Great film. This review contains spoilers.
Gomer has difficulties with the obstacle course, but he is an expert sniper. His commander and the other cadets are unusually cruel to him, meaning that he is treated much worse than any other soldiers-in-training. He manages to overcome his difficulties with the help of another cadet (I believe it was Joker). He kills his commander and himself in the bathroom at the end of the first half of the film. Instead of going to Veitnam as an expert soldier he dies due to his inability to take the hazing from his commander and fellow cadets.
The commander told the cadets that they would be sleeping with their rifles one night, and he instructed them to give their rifles girls' names because it "is the only ***** you're getting from now on." This scene is both humourous and depressing, as it reminds us what soldiers must give up to serve their nation.
Combat journalism is a subject of this film in its second half. While most of the soldiers are shooting at a building trying to kill a sniper inside, one of the troops is taking photographs with his camera. Imbedded journalists were a hot topic during the American takeover of Iraq in 2003, which makes this film even more interesting.
The soldiers in this film were hilarious. They were supposed to be America's best on a mission to prevent the spread of communism, but we find them haggling with prostitutes during their free time in Hue City.
This film was both funny and showed the horror of military life from the bases to battle. I highly recommend viewing it. I'm not sure how historically accurate it is (ie whether or not life as an American soldier in Vietnam was anything like this), but it certainly does an excellent job of showing the ironies of the war. |
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