Courage Under Fire
by Edward Zwick
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DVD details
Actor: Denzel Washington, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon, Meg Ryan, Michael MoriartyDirector: Edward Zwick
Brand: TCFHE
Producer: David T. Friendly
Producer: Debra Martin Chase
Producer: John Davis
Producer: Joseph M. Caracciolo
Producer: Joseph Singer
Producer: Paul Neesan
Writer: Patrick Sheane Duncan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-12-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Courage Under Fire
DVD Review: Not that courageous...
Summary: 2 Stars
I know that this isn't the most popular of opinions, but I found this film far too clichéd and predictable to be anything remotely memorable. I know I'm coming into this a few years late, but my adoration for Meg Ryan and my sidelined respect for Denzel Washington made my anticipation for this film high. Sadly, it just didn't really work for me in any way, except for that surprisingly brilliant turn by Matt Damon. The plot is a little too contrived to be anything memorable. The idea is nice, but it is poorly realized, with far too many predictable twists that take away from the films apparent poignancy (or need to be so).
The film centers on a haunted solider (are there any other kinds?), Serling, who is currently overseeing a Medal of Honor candidate who died in the line of duty. Battling his own memories of causing the death of a fellow solider and friend, Serling finds some inconsistencies in interviewing those related to the loss of Captain Walden. When he finds out that Walden was a woman it makes it all the more pertinent to `do this right', a way that Serling can make personal amends for his own errors.
But what he finds out is more than he bargained for.
Honestly, this film thinks that it is deeper and more shocking than it really is. You can smell the dishonesty in certain aspects of the plot that foretell events too clearly for the audience, and the ending revelations are just not that impending (unless you count the brilliant facial expression carried by Matt Damon when the revelation is revealed).
Outside of Damon though, this film is burdened by unfulfilled performances that take this film down a bad road. That may be the biggest drawback, because some stellar performances could have elevated the material and sold the film for something more than it was. Instead, the lack of drive in these performances only highlighted the films `other' flaws. Much has been said about Meg Ryan's performance in the `praise' category, but I must say that I thought she was nearly awful, and I LOVE her. She has handled drama before and delivered rather wonderfully (her Oscar snub for `When a Man Loves a Woman' still pisses me off) but this was just a mess. Her accent was terrible and her character arc was unbelievable. She tried so hard to play tough and it just didn't work. Lou Diamond Philips was so stereotypical it was pathetic and Denzel Washington still doesn't really know how to balance out his emotions. So much is made of him as an actor, but his ability to really nail a performance is sketchy. Yes, I love him in certain films (Malcolm X, He Got Game) but unless he has a character with some edge or bite he tends to play his characters on the dull side. He makes Serling a total bore.
Maybe that's how I feel about the film as a whole; a total bore.
Description of Courage Under Fire
LT. COLONEL NATHANIEL SERLING IS ORDERED TO REVIEW CAPTAIN KARENWALDEN'S CANDIDACY FOR A MEDAL OF HONOR. SERLING UNCOVERS CONFLICTING STORIES AND BEGINS TO SUSPECT A GOVERNMENT COVER-UP.REFUSING TO FILE AN INCOMPLETE REPORT, SERLING CONFRONTS HISSUPERIOR AND IS THREATENED WITH AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION.A year after a devastating friendly fire incident during the Gulf War, Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) is in a Washington, D.C., desk job assigned the rudimentary task of overseeing a Medal of Honor candidate who died in the war. However, the case and soldier in question are a political hot potato--Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) is America's first female soldier to be killed in combat.
Serling soon finds discrepancies in the case of a downed Medevac helicopter in the rocky Kuwait territory. What unfolds in flashback are several versions of Walden's tactics (à la Kurosawa's Rashomon) to rescue the soldiers and survive the downing. As with Glory, Director Edward Zwick's cast of unknown and famous faces always comes off as the real article. Walden's crew is especially convincing. Matt Damon as the medic comes off as the giddy scaredy-cat when telling his story to Washington. In battle he's a flawed, humorous soldier. The most surprising work in the movie is done by Lou Diamond Phillips (as the group's gunman), whose career had been headed to straight-to-video oblivion.
Then there's Ryan. She has done well with dramatic work in the past (When a Man Loves a Woman, Flesh and Bone) but has never been able to escape the romantic-comedy image. With dyed hair, a light accent, and the dramatics of the situation, Ryan finally has an enduring dramatic film. Even though she has half of Washington's screen time, her brave and ultimately haunting performance makes Courage something special, right down to its curious but rewarding final scene. --Doug Thomas
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