| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B- |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
B- |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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A view from the other side
by tran (movies profile)
Jul 3, 2007
8
of
10 people found this review helpful
- I'm a Vietnamese, live in Hanoi. I'm very interested in our history so I've seen almost all the movies they make about Vietnam War out there. So when this one came out, I buy it ^_^.
- I don't have any experienced with real combat, my dad does. I also share this movies with some other people, veteran and non-veteran. So in this review I try to get all their reaction.
- First of all, this movies is a good one. The movies based on a real story about the first major combat between US. soldiers and NVA (North Vietnam Army, you call) along with National Liberation Front army (well-known as Viet Cong or VC in US.) The America Army is trying a new war strategy, later on become very famous, using "Dragonfly" (a slang term prefered to Helicopter, used by Vietnamese)to get soldiers in and out of battle very effective, you can see in the movies.
- The director of the Movies is someone know about Vietnam War, so it's a big Pros, it's also based on a very realistic book "We were soldier ... once and young" so it's some how captured the battle.
- The actors of the movies along with all the crew done a good job in acting. Although invited some real Vietnamese, the movies still have the same problem in picture the NVA troops. Most of them are not Vietnamese, along with some problem like accent in the voice. However, it's a very minor problem and unless you are a Vietnamese, you can't recognized.
- The battle in the movies, with the help of new technology and effects, are quite real (some veteran also said the way they make Napalm bomb is quite good). But it could been a whole lot better. Through out the battle, you'll see NVA troops running straigh into a machine gun, or running while shooting like crazy, or.. you name it. In James Bond or other Hollywood movies this effect maybe appriciated, I dont know, but in a war movies, this is a big Cons. It may make the movies more entertaining for some people, but it'll never reach the level of movies like "Saving Private Ryan".
Another thing, the scene where "Vietcong" join the battle. Come on, Hollywood, you don't need to picture a man with traditional clothes wearing a SHOOT-AT-ME big WHITE HAT running on the field to make him a VC, do you?
- The movies is so polictic and some how propaganda, and it's show the view side of American(only). I don't want to comment about the US view. But the ending scene where they make the NVA commander comment about the war, with the flag of America, it's a big JOKE. It's make the movies become funny and while watching this scence we cannot stop laughing.
Some additional information you may don't know.
-/"Nguyen Huu An", the Lieutenant Colonel who command the NVA in the movies, later on become a very famous General.
-/Don Duong, the actor who starring "Nguyen Huu An", before he was invited to Hollywood, is a famous, promising actor of Vietnam, after it, he stay in USA and did not come back to Vietnam.
-Overall, the movies was good at showing America view about the war and remind Veteran who fought in the war of the bloody and sorrow past (The movies is very good at recalling the emotion from the veteran). Other people may find this movies entertaining. Don't judge on how real the movies was, no one know it all! |
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