À Espreita

The film begins in the middle of the action and the events building up to it are narrated to the audience over the course of a single dialogue exchange between the general and the captain. 10-15min invested on that through visuals would have definitely helped.

Though the core plot of tunnel warfare is nothing new, the story nonetheless is not gripping. The screenplay is also equally lacking and at places especially toward the end, it falls apart failing to keep viewers on the edge. Even the editing at the end becomes wayward with unnecessary cuts that's immediately obvious. Acting is decent and its only the likes of Eckhart that impede this movie from becoming another forgettable B-Grade school project.

This is the most amateurish piece of work I've ever seen. Wrong weapons, wrong uniforms, wrong rank insignias (dozens of them), wrong rations. There is no way, NO WAY, they had any US Army consultant, or even any input from an Army veteran.

In one scene, the nutritional value of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) is discussed. The problem is that MREs were first distributed in 1981. The basic combat meals in Vietnam were the good old C Rations. C-Rats. C's. Etc.

As to uniforms . . . What a mess! This was FUBAR from the get-go. Stripes being worn like shoulder insignia. Officers with shiny rank, not subdued, and rank but no branch. Most actors have no idea how to properly wear a beret, but this cast takes it to a new level of hilarity. A French chef might be impressed, but certainly not a soldier. They just look simply ridiculous.

So, spare yourself the pain of watching bad acting and a pointless plot performed by people apparently dressed up for Trick-or Treat. Just double time right on past this one.

It's a shame three things spoilt what could have been a reasonably good film. Firstly, Aaron Eckhart is a great actor so I hope they paid him well for the day it took to shoot his scenes on a the one set. He was shoehorned into the movie so they could use his name. Secondly, who builds a camp in hostile territory with no walls or lookouts? An open playground would have had more protection from the rain of enemy bullets. And lastly, the dog. Let's not forget the dog. For a tracker dog that is supposed to lead the way while straining on it's leash, the damn thing had to be dragged everywhere. Where did the production company get it? The local pound? The actors were good, the concept was good, the cinematography was good. Just a damn shame the production was lacking.

The show starts with a place and date, 1966. In the background, an F-111. That didn't even enter service until a year later and didn't come to Vietnam until 1968.

There then follows a sequence of macho macho man orders and posturing. So lame, it's beyond parody.

The Special Forces captain flies to a base to receive a special secret package. Why he can fly in and not fly back out again using the same helicopter (or even any helicopter) having collected the famous package is never explained.

Upon arrival there is more screaming authoritarianism - clearly the script writers haven't ever been on a military base. Laughably, the OC for this base is a corporal. Whose mean keep calling him "Sir". His demeanour is that of an earnest but ridiculous one pip wonder, but even so, the "Special Forces" captain does nothing but belittle him and scream at him. Whilst also addressing him as if he is in command of a 50 man detachment...

Next, a guy manning a machine gun and whizzing the iron sights around spots two US Special Forces snipers in full ghillie suits about 200M out from his position and challenges them.

They stand up and assert that they have "the package", a book marker "Secret" inside a plastic map case. When asked if the enemy (who knew that the Vietnamese marked secret documents in English?) knew that they had this document, the snipers earnestly responded that there were 8 of them, implying that 6 comrades had died (or been captured). Having not answered a straight question with a straight answer, the hitherto highly strung SF captain says he needs to arrange some "R&R" for the newly arrived hero's.

Whereupon someone (another trembling nerd engineer) accidentally discharges his weapon, causing the SF captain to drop the "Secret" documents in the mud so he can regain his title of the most screamy man in Vietnam. Another trembling nerd (for this is what combat engineers are according to this film, or perhaps are reduced to by the overwhelming machismo of the SF presence) picks it up and has a gun out in his face by one of the "sniper" team.

As the captain resumes screaming at the other corporal (one of whom discharged the gun and is made out to be far more junior in rank than the other who is again made out to be the detachment OC), I decide that the 20 minutes lost to date is more than enough.

Read this and save yourself the 18 minutes of ridiculous rubbish.

The lack of any effort to have a military consultant chime in and just fix the basic stuff around military customs and courtesy, or rank structure would have given this movie an additional 3 stars from me.

• Captains do not give orders to Lt. Colonels.

• Junior Non-Commissioned Officers do not command 50 guys at a forward operating base.

• Superiors do not address their juniors as sir. It is a courtesy shown to the higher rank.

Any recently discharged servicemember could have been hired for peanuts, probably just a movie credit alone, as a consultant to this movie, and it wouldn't have pissed off a generation of veterans, and would have improved the script.