Hey folks, Harry here... Daptonic here is a very very lucky dog... No he didn't get a heaping serving of Kibbles and Bits and Bits and Bits... Rather, he got to see an astoundingly early advance screening of WE WERE SOLDIERS! Now, I tried to read the script for this project but simply could not get through it. No, it didn't suck, I just had EVERY OTHER PAGE!!!! UGH!!! However, Moriarty had the whole thing and reviewed the script con mucho gusto here! But really... what does that mean, it's only Moriarty. But here we have a report of the in-progress print of the film. Most likely this is one edit past the assembly print... and was extremely rough... But it sounds like it kicked hell out of Daptonic... Here ya go.....
Hi Harry;
I’ll go by Daptonic, last night a few friends and I saw the first test screening for “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson, Berry Pepper, Greg Kinnear here in Thousand Oaks, CA. In cause you don’t know this is a movie about the first major battle between the US and Vietnam armies during the Vietnam War. The story revolves around the 1st Battalion, 7th Calvary unit and the new technique of riding helicopters into battle.
I was to say right away that this movie seemed more Saving Private Ryan-like then any other Vietnam movie I have seen to date. I didn’t get the sense of political motivation in this movie; this was just a story about what our troops went through while they were in that valley massively outnumbered and constantly under fire.
As I said this movie focuses on the 7th Cavalry unit and its commander Lt. Colonel Harold Moore, played by Mel Gibson. He is the central character, yet the way the movie was written and shot all the characters no matter how big or small their part was well done and helped me to understand, a very small fraction, of what they were going through and how they all thought of each other as family.
Several other things made this movie stand out in my mind. In typical war movies we see the battle from one side’s point of view, very rarely do we see the “enemy” and his thoughts, in this movie we see the Vietnamese general speaking to his troops, strategizing and making them believe in their fight. We also see a more personal side to Vietnamese soldiers, we several filling out diaries or holding pictures of their girlfriend/wife. In one scene we see a Vietnamese soldier hiding behind a tree building up confidence/resolve before making a suicide run on Col. Moore. In a way we felt for both sides.
Yet this isn’t the only “front” we see. The movie also deals with the wives back at home and how they cope with the letters from the government saying that their husbands are dead.
There we several narrated scenes by Berry Pepper, who plays a photographer/journalist who boards a helicopter taking supplies to the surrounded troops, and it is through him that the story is supposed to be told, or so I gathered while watching the movie.
This movie has too many powerful scenes to list in this description, too many unforgettable visuals. This movie is violent, but it is a movie about war, and the director here does not shy away from blood, as evidenced by the sheer volume we see on screen and are hinted at through the carnage.
The acting by all was outstanding, the supporting actors/actresses all played their roles beautifully and I cannot wait to see the final print of the movie next summer.
Daptonic
