Tag Archives: Army

Kelly’s Heroes

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Kelly’s Heroes is one of those films that threatens to overstay its welcome with the long runtime but ends up being solid all around. It’s certainly better than a good deal of the military/war films that I’ve seen. The comedy really helps to cement itself as a good all around title and it still has time for the serious action scenes as well. This would be tough for almost any title to match I’d say.

The movie begins with Kelly escaping the Nazi base with one of their commanders. He finds out from this guy that there is a huge shipment of 14,000 gold bars that went into a nearby town. The town is significantly behind enemy lines but Kelly smells a huge pay day. So he rounds up a lot of his pals from the army to go and get the gold. Not a whole lot mind you, they want to keep this as a tight operation but a guy called Oddball overhears the plan. He insists on coming along and considering that he has 3 tanks at the ready, Kelly figures it will be a good idea to let him in. So they begin their adventure deep into enemy lines. Can they pull this off?

It’s pretty easy to see why the characters are all super stoked about this though. As one of them says, they face this kind of danger every day for only $50 per day. Well now they can risk their lives for life altering amounts of money. Not a bad deal you’d have to admit. Of course it also doesn’t take away from this being a very difficult mission. So there is a body count and not everyone makes it through. The deaths are taken pretty seriously and the film is able to blend the two genres well. When a character goes down, the cast have a moment of silence before going back to the yelling and bickering.

Kelly makes for a really good main character. You can’t picture anyone else being able to contain this many personalities running around in the same room. They would just completely overwhelm a lesser character but they aren’t going to be pushing Kelly around. Early on it takes a lot of convincing for his boss to get in on this deal and it was only the fact that Kelly was fully prepared to go along without the commander that it forced him into this. The cast for the movie is also impressively large. There are a ton of moving pieces here with different plots that you have to keep track of at once.

Oddball is probably the biggest character next to Kelly. That guy is commanding his own share of troops and while his leadership style is considerably different, he gets the job done as needed. The guy always sounds rather out of it which is part of the appeal. I probably still wouldn’t trust him with a job no matter how many times it turns out well though. The guy has exceptionally good luck which is really handy to have out on the field but you are always worried about when it will run out. You just know that it’ll run out at the absolute worst moment.

I also liked the head general who was at home minding his own business until he heard that the main characters were so deep into enemy territory. He woke up real quick and decided to join them. The guy basically treated the whole thing like a big ball game. It may not be the most responsible way to view things and it was pretty clear that he wouldn’t be much good in a fight but I at least liked the enthusiasm. At the very least he was going to award them all and wasn’t some phony. Him enjoying the celebrations and everything is just the price that the others have to pay for this.

A good part of the film’s appeal is really in all of the banter between the characters and that definitely speaks to the solid writing of the movie. All of the characters tend to bounce off of each other pretty well. It doesn’t mean that everyone is likable but it does mean that you enjoy all of the conversations. The characters really aren’t afraid to get in each other’s faces and yell a lot. They’ve all got big personalities after all but they also are able to get together as a group against the enemy as needed. There is never a moment where they mix up what they want to do with what they need to do.

That’s probably the toughest part to get right for a title like this. The ending is also pretty satisfying. It may get rough for one of the characters but for the most part all of the others get a good resolution. I tend to enjoy heist films and hadn’t seen a wartime one like this before. After watching it, I would be down for more in this genre. It’s probably still a genre that will be best in city type environments but this one showed that war torn areas can work as well. That’s another pretty strong feather in the film’s cap. I typically don’t even enjoy the war setting as a backdrop but this one managed to make it work better than I would have guessed. It’s not over the top muddy and gruesome or anything like that. It’s no summer picnic but it doesn’t get in the way of the story or have me waiting for them to hit up the big cities.

Overall, Kelly’s Heroes is a pretty fun film. A lot of the humor was really well timed and the action was good. There is a lot going on here and that’s a good thing because of how long the film is. I do think they probably could have shaved off 20 minutes or so though. You can feel the film’s length towards the end with the big climax and whenever you can feel the length like that, you know that they are cutting it super close. As long as you enjoy a good laugh then you should watch this one. It’s very rare to see a war movie that is just having a good time like this so you really need to savor that feeling.

Heartbreak Ridge Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a classic war film that’s pretty fun. You always like to see the gruff commander show up to get the younger men into shape. He really turns the Z squad into the A squad in a fairly short time. We still get the serious war scenes to be sure but a lot of the film is really spent on the build up to the war so we see how the training goes.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tom who has served a lot of time in the army and now life is rather boring for him. He gets himself placed into prison a lot for rather mundane reasons. Well, now he has been transferred to what is easily considered the worst division as a punishment. Well, nobody is going to mess with Tom. His toughness does get the team to respect him fairly quick though. Do they finally have a chance at greatness?

You see a lot of war films where the army platoon leaders are super cruel or just corrupt which can be annoying so it’s nice to see a leader who is tough but knows how to balance things out. He’s always in charge and can take care of himself without actually being mean about it. For example he gets his revenge on Stitch who stole his money early on but then from there on it’s all even. He’s not going to be vindictive about it or anything like that. Then when the squad calls in their big hitter Swede, Tom just shows him what’s up and keeps on moving. There’s no time for grudges in the army, he’s just trying to have a winning squad.

He set the tone immediately in the first scene when he beat someone up in prison and never goes back from there. Tom is easily the standout character in the film and all of his scenes are great. I also liked the main villain Malcolm. He could perhaps be a bit over the top but he works well as the foil. He’s corrupt and everything that Tom is not. This is the guy that you absolutely do not want to be your squad leader because he’s going to lead you into every kind of disaster possible. The guy absolutely puts his petty rivalries above the actual mission and he will do that every time. It’s certainly not very becoming for an officer, especially such a high ranking one. He had a bone to pick with Tom right from the start.

It gets worse when you find out that he actively sabotages the main squad so they can always lose to his squad. He sees his group as being the best and so the others don’t matter which is not effective in the slightest. The character who really steps up when it counts is Lt. Ring. At first he is way too inexperienced and reads everything out of textbooks. The guy doesn’t know what to do in a real fight at all. So this is his chance to really step out of his shell. I’d say that he makes the most out of the opportunity. He was annoying at first but was a good character by the end.

As for Stitch and the other soldiers, I wouldn’t say that I ever ended up liking any of them much. Yes, they assembled under Tom’s leadership but it feels like they are all easily swayed. If someone other than Tom had shown up then they would all still be delinquents. Of course their character redemption arc is the whole point of the movie but I just wasn’t as convinced as I could have been. Their scenes still tend to bring a lot of humor though so it’s not like that’s something that would bring the film down. I particularly liked it when Tom would troll them with the different shirts the whole time.

The only plot that wasn’t particularly good involved Tom’s ex wife Aggie. This is the romance subplot where they are trying to get back together but there’s just way too much baggage here. It feels completely unrealistic and at no point do you really believe that they even like each other. It comes across more like they’re both just lonely and desperate which isn’t a great reason to get back together. The romance isn’t a big focus in the movie but it’s still big enough to be mentioned. It’s easily the weakest part of the film.

Of course when you just have one general weak point then you are in a good position. The movie as a whole has really good pacing the whole time. There’s a good amount of action in the climax as well. I would say that the film is at its best in the first half with Tom showing everyone up with a lot of clever dialogue. He’s not exactly a big talker but always knows how to pick the perfect moments to deliver some killer lines. He really keeps the characters on notice there. The writing is really solid here and granted this is the edited version so the script might be a little more intense otherwise but in this version it was good.

Overall, Heartbreak Ridge is a pretty good movie. It is a war movie but most of the film is about the training so it almost feels like as slightly different genre. Maybe army training if that’s a real sub genre. Either way it’s a satisfying watch that feels like there was a lot of effort put into creating this one. It’s a well crafted experience. If you like a solid army film that has a good sense of humor then you should check this one out for sure. Whether you view it as an inspirational title or just a funny one, there are lot of lessons and morals to take away from this. Always bring your best and it’s never too late to improve yourself.

Overall 7/10

Behind Enemy Lines Review

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It’s time for a film that reminds you of just how dangerous it can be to be caught behind enemy lines. Trust me that’s not a situation that you ever want to be in. It makes for a pretty action packed movie with a lot of chase scenes and having to avoid enemy fire. I had a pretty good time with it and would recommend checking it out to anyone looking for a solid action movie to watch.

The movie starts with Chris really looking forward to his current tour ending. He had been hoping for a lot of action and excitement as a pilot but instead he’s mostly just had to do a lo of flying around empty areas. No gunfights or anything like that and he doesn’t appreciate the peace. Well one day, he ends up flying a little far out and gets shot down by the opposition. His partner is executed and he barely escapes into the wilderness. The US is in a tough political battle with this country and so with the treaty nearly here they don’t want to risk anything setting that back. So despite having a soldier on the run, the higher ups forbid Admiral Leslie from stepping in. Leslie wants to help but needs to figure out a way to do this. Will assistance be in time for Chris or is he truly on his own?

Now if this was a power fantasy film Chris would just defeat the whole army and keep it moving but of course that wouldn’t be super realistic. Best we can do for you here is have Chris be able to outrun the entire army and dodge all of their bullets. A pretty impressive feat in and of itself though. You’re going to see a lot of scenes of everyone trying to murder Chris and he’s just too fast for them. He moves through the forest like it’s his own backyard and he’s also able to use the mud to his advantage so that he can hide even while they are right on top of him. So yeah pretty impressive all around.

This film will have you stretching your disbelief quite a bit with how it’s handled but it does make for a very exciting movie which is always a good idea. It does come at the expense of the hype for one of the villains though. This guy is supposed to be an expert sniper, the best in the business and the film hypes him up as a huge threat. The problem for the guy is that ultimately when the chips are down he isn’t able to hit Chris. He has Chris straight in his sights and misses every single shot. Really a bad look for the guy since he’s a sniper and shooting at someone should be what he does best. It definitely had me a little confused I have to say. Just feels like the villain should have been handled a lot better.

There’s also another scene where he gets really lucky. Basically the villain who was with him steps on a land mine and asks him for help. The sniper says nah and start to walk away. The first villain should have just tried to run or make a jump for it then and blown them both up. No way you just let the other guy get away like that right? It would make no sense and just makes you look bad for accepting that. You have to keep your dignity in tact. All of the villains were on the weak side here to be sure but you can’t just take that. You have to make a move.

Meanwhile Leslie was a good admiral. He definitely did try to do the right thing throughout the whole film but it just wasn’t so easy. Every time he was being stopped on all sides by other officials. The film was definitely trying to show a lot of corruption within the government here like one guy in particular who seemed to be working with the terrorists the whole time. I was surprised at how easily he got off after it was all said and done. I guess there just wasn’t a strong enough case against him and he probably blamed it on someone else but that was unfortunate.

It was nice to see Chris actually get a little help as the film went on from the resistance. Usually it feels like nobody’s around at all and so the hero is really on his own but even just having one person makes a huge difference when you’re on the run like that. The crazy thing is that Chris could have really saved himself a whole movie if he just hadn’t yelled when they blew up his partner. I get that he was feeling pretty stressed and shocked when that happened but at the same time he really didn’t need to yell like that. The scene took so long and was so drawn out that it’s not like he didn’t see it coming. So he should have been prepared for that moment from the start.

If he doesn’t make a sound then nobody finds out and he has a really solid head start over to the extraction point. Even with the moles and traitors running around, I don’t think anyone would have had time to stop him before he escaped. So it was really a turning point in the whole movie right from the start.

Overall, This is definitely an exciting film with a whole lot of action the whole time. The pacing is on point and while the character cast isn’t huge, they work well enough. The movie is definitely at its best when it is really focusing on the thriller aspects of the title over the drama but handles them all rather well. It has a lot of fun with slow mo scenes and tons of camera cuts all over the place to really make you feel the intensity. This is absolutely more of an action film than your classic war title so keep that in mind when you’re watching it. I’ll be curious to see if any of the sequels can match this one. In theory you can just keep reusing the same plot over and over again so it’s all going to come down to the execution. Give me enough fight scenes and you absolutely have a chance after all.

Overall 7/10

Lone Survivor

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a film based on a true story. I suppose films like that don’t have to worry about spoilers as presumably you already know about it, but I still think the title could have been a little different. It sort of spoils a massive part of the movie right out of the gate. You’re waiting for all of his teammates to be destroyed so that the main character is the sole survivor but the whole film is about the onslaught so he isn’t actually on his own until the end of the film. Moreover, the title also basically confirms that he survives. I know since this is based on a true story it’s likely that he would survive but not a guarantee since a lot of tragic stories also get adapted. All I’m saying here is the title’s just a bit on the odd side with how much it gives away.

Well, the basic plot here is that an army of soldiers are sent deep into enemy territory to take down one of the enemy leaders. They need to stealthily get in there and judge the situation. Unfortunately they are spotted by a few locals and after some deliberation, decide to let them go. Unfortunately these people let the Taliban know that the soldiers are in the area and they all start to get picked off. Can they survive long enough for backup to arrive or is it all over for them? That’s the general plot of the film at least.

Off the bat I do think it’s valid to think that the heroes made the wrong move in letting the witnesses go. It does make sense that they would go and let people know which would compromise the whole operation. Your only options at that point are to take them down, tie them up, or bring them with you. I understand not wanting to go the nuclear option but tieing them up should be the bare minimum. Alternately you take them with you as you take the high position on the mountain and you just let them go once you’ve established radio contact and gotten backup. Either way you are in a much better position. The problem with waiting is that you’re not on home turf so the enemy knows the location better than you do and you’re heavily outnumbered.

It’s probably no exaggeration to say that the enemy had 5-6 times the numbers that the heroes had because the soldiers took down a lot of enemy fighters and yet they just kept on coming. It felt like there was no real end to them no matter how much ammo the heroes had. Perhaps if they were on level ground they could have managed to overcome the odds but even then it’s tough because of how heavily armed the enemy was. They had RPGs and machine guns at the ready. The heroes had a lot of ammo and several guns but it’s just hard to fight like that. You’re basically going up against a mini army.

The only time the film isn’t focused on all this action is really the intro act where the heroes are getting ready to be deployed and they all have a little fun. It’s nice that we at least got to see them having a bit of fun before everything went south. There are also the brief meanwhiles to the army base but those are always brief. You do wonder how come the army doesn’t have better communication technology in this day and age though. Using satellites and such you’d expect them to be able to reach home base in any area. Not being able to make contact at all feels like it would ramp every mission’s difficulty up a whole lot. If you can’t call for backup or extraction you’re close to turning these into suicide missions.

The brass apparently knew from the start that there could be communication issues as well so it’s not like this is a big surprise or anything like that. It was expected which probably makes this even more tragic all the way around. If there was ever something that deserved a ton of funding, it’s definitely making improvements to that technology. It also feels very feasible so even though this film’s based on events that aren’t super old, I would imagine this would no longer be such a cause for concern in the present.

Overall, The Lone Survivor is definitely a very intense army film. Don’t expect a whole lot of happy scenes here or much cause for celebration during the adventure. The majority of its runtime is really about the heroes being brutally beaten and killed as they do their best to survive for as long as possible. The film doesn’t hold back on the violence at all or the desperation that the characters are feeling. If you’re curious about the real life events then it makes sense to check out this film but it also may just be easier to read an article on it instead. It’s not really my kind of title and just makes for a very dreary movie as you watch it through. Even the ending isn’t what I would call all the way happy because ultimately this came at a super high price.

The Girl He Left Behind Review

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It’s time to look at an old school war film about a guy who tries to sabotage the army from the inside. Andy is a pretty spoiled main character and while the film tries to give him a character arc, it just doesn’t work. Still, the film is pretty good despite that. You just aren’t rooting for the main character for once.

The film starts off with the lead kicking the game winning field goal. Unfortunately he is broke so his Mom has to give him spending money for when he hangs out with the heroine. It’s a nice gesture and this isn’t a bad thing per say. What makes this a bad set up is that Andy takes advantage of her generosity by being reckless. He breaks the heroine’s car so he has to spend a lot of money to fix it. Everyone has had enough so he is sent off to the army. That’s when the lead decides that he will do everything he can to leave the army by sabotaging his platoon at every corner. Can the army make a man out of this kid or is it too late?

It goes without saying that Andy makes things miserable for everyone. The platoon is naturally expected to keep their barracks clean or their squad leader will get chewed out. Well, the lead decides to leave the guns unlocked and the coats unpressed. This effects the whole squad and the lead just tells everyone to deal with it since he won’t be stopping. He’ll even go and fight with anyone who tries to stop him. Unfortunately he is a pretty good fighter so it’s tough for the average joes to stop him. The lead also goes and steals their money for his own amusement.

Interestingly enough, the film doesn’t really try to make you empathize with the character until the final minutes of the film. He shows no real remorse and doesn’t do anything to make it right to the platoon. So then there is no reason to like the main character at all. Giving this guy a general position? Now that’s just crazy and I feel bad for his underlings. The army just promoted the wrong guy over someone who was likely a lot more qualified.

That’s why the fight scene near the end of the film was probably the best moment in the movie. We finally got to see the main character put in his place. I’m definitely glad about that since an army officer who trains diligently every day the way the commander does should definitely be more than a match for a random cadet. You can’t skip training and still hope to be the best.

Meanwhile you’ll feel bad for the heroine who has to put up with this. She just wants to study hard and retire early. Unfortunately that isn’t really an option with this lead. While she made the right move in breaking up with him early on, she made a mistake in getting back together each time. She should have just left well enough alone and I’m sure she would have been happier.

The rest of the characters are definitely on point. The commander of the main character’s platoon is definitely a lot of fun. You certainly can’t say that he doesn’t have personality. His lawnmower examples were always solid. Then you have the other army commanders who gradually realize that the lead is a real problem. There is a nice sense of unity among these guys.

The script is top notch here, but you would expect nothing less. The characters dish out a lot of witty one liners. The voice acting for the characters is pretty solid as they all tend to sound sarcastic at different points. While Andy is definitely a bad character, his confidence does lead to a lot of nice comebacks. He definitely isn’t afraid of throwing a little sarcasm at everyone around him. I suppose if you are going to play the role of the villain it is almost a necessity. I do hope he was forced to give the money back to his teammates at some point down the line though. You just can’t have someone like that as a commander otherwise. The ending is definitely the weakest part of the film. There’s just no way Andy should have been allowed to stick around the way that he did.

Overall, While the main character definitely goes a little too far with how immature he is, it doesn’t take away from the film’s solid writing and pacing. It’s a fun enough story and it definitely does show the army as being a lot nicer than you would see in other films. The lead wouldn’t have gotten away with nearly as much in a different movie. If you haven’t seen any of these classic army comedies before then I would definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a nice all around film. Some parts haven’t aged as well as others, but that’ll make it a very authentic retro film.

Overall 7/10