This is less a war movie than it is the story of one man coming to terms with the realities and the human cost of war that he had been largely shielded from. That one man is Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman). Hambleton is a soldier who "directs" war but doesn't really "fight" it. When possible, he's on a golf course, perfecting his already excellent game. When necessary, he's generally either behind a desk or high up in the sky, where the effect of bombs and missiles aren't obvious. But one day, flying a mission over North Vietnam, Hambleton's plane is brought down and he finds himself behind enemy lines, waiting desperately to be rescued. His primary lifeline to the outside is reconnaissance pilot Bird-Dog (Danny Glover). Bird Dog isn't really happy to be directing the rescue mission. He's tired and he's resentful of this guy who might cost a lot of lives to get out. As a war movie, this is pretty standard, with nothing much to differentiate it from any other war movie. It's Hambleton and Bird Dog - and their growing relationship over radio - that make this movie move forward.
Hambleton is the more interesting of the two. For a guy who's spent his entire adult life in the military, he has little experience of war and its impact. As he tries to get to a rescue point, he discovers the cost of war. He encounters a civilian and has to kill him or be killed, and then, having done the deed, he encounters the man's three sons as he dashes away. He encounters a young boy who does him a kindness and saves his life. He watches helplessly as, in an attempt to rescue him, the US Air Force bombs a village that still has many civilians in it - "women and children" as he cries over the radio to the pilots. He learns that war isn't anonymous, it isn't clean, it isn't sanitary and it has a huge cost beyond just those who fight it. Hambleton's change of ethical perspective is subtle but real, and well portrayed by Hackman.
Bird Dog was less central to the story, but he also changes. Resentful of Hambleton and the risks and costs involved in rescuing him at first, he develops a compassion for Hambleton and becomes committed to getting him out at whatever cost - even defying orders and stealing a helicopter to get the job done. This transformation, as Bird Dog changes from seeing Hambleton as a mission to a person and then even as a friend, is also very real, and also well portrayed by Glover.
So the movie has two fine acting performances from the leads, and an interesting depiction of two people struggling with pre-conceived notions and a lifetime of experiences and being changed. As a war movie it's not especially noteworthy, and it takes some dramatic license with the true story on which it's based, of course, but it's an excellent human story. (7/10)
Hambleton is the more interesting of the two. For a guy who's spent his entire adult life in the military, he has little experience of war and its impact. As he tries to get to a rescue point, he discovers the cost of war. He encounters a civilian and has to kill him or be killed, and then, having done the deed, he encounters the man's three sons as he dashes away. He encounters a young boy who does him a kindness and saves his life. He watches helplessly as, in an attempt to rescue him, the US Air Force bombs a village that still has many civilians in it - "women and children" as he cries over the radio to the pilots. He learns that war isn't anonymous, it isn't clean, it isn't sanitary and it has a huge cost beyond just those who fight it. Hambleton's change of ethical perspective is subtle but real, and well portrayed by Hackman.
Bird Dog was less central to the story, but he also changes. Resentful of Hambleton and the risks and costs involved in rescuing him at first, he develops a compassion for Hambleton and becomes committed to getting him out at whatever cost - even defying orders and stealing a helicopter to get the job done. This transformation, as Bird Dog changes from seeing Hambleton as a mission to a person and then even as a friend, is also very real, and also well portrayed by Glover.
So the movie has two fine acting performances from the leads, and an interesting depiction of two people struggling with pre-conceived notions and a lifetime of experiences and being changed. As a war movie it's not especially noteworthy, and it takes some dramatic license with the true story on which it's based, of course, but it's an excellent human story. (7/10)