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America's sweetheart as a helicopter pilot? Most critics say she does an excellent job, but that's not what makes this movie so momentous. Neither is it the excellent performance by Denzel Washington, who had been expected by many to win an Oscar nomination for it. Nor is it the over the top performance of Matt Damon, nor is it the excellent contributions by any of the others in the cast. It's the way the story is told: throughout the movie you see the same sequence, over and over again, and each time you understand what is happening just a little bit more, until at the very end the import of it all hits you like a locomotive. It's a unique brand of story telling, and eminently successful.

A DESERT STORM veteran, Lt Col Nat Serling (played by Denzel Washington), is assigned the task of recommending whether or not to award the first (posthumous) combat Medal of Honor to a woman, Capt Karen Walden (played by Meg Ryan). In investigating the inconsistent mission accounts of Walden's surviving crew, Serling constantly flashes back to his own searing DESERT STORM experience and the Army's subsequent attempts to whitewash the incident, resolving that his investigation will not suffer the same fate. As Serling tries to rectify the competing competing accounts it becomes clear that director Edward Zwick has crafted a contemporary "Rashomon," complete with reminders that the truth is always subjective and our accounts of it typically affected by self-interest.

Courage Under Fire is a movie that will stay with me for a while. Denzel Washington continues to be one of the finest actors today and proves it in this movie. The premise was interesting and was entertaining. I was disappointed with Meg Ryan's performance. I usually like her but she got annoying with her constant shouting. Yet that didn't keep the movie down. It was extremely dramatic and my two favorite scenes are the scene with Lou Diamond Phillips in the car and when it shows what really happened. A great film and terrific acting by Denzel Washington.

"Courage Under Fire" is perhaps the best illustration of how flexible and adaptive actors like Denzel Washington are. What makes "Courage Under Fire" impressive is not so much its plot or storyline (which is somewhat inconsistent), but its portrayal of a lone officer torn between personal conscience and duty. Denzel's overweight build and alcoholic demeanor create the highly credible image of a man barely attached to his life. Basically the story of a budding Army officer re-assigned to administrative duties following a Desert Storm friendly fire incident, "Courage Under Fire" submerges the viewer into pure emotional hell as it progresses. The stunning emotional catharisis portrayed at the film's end is incredibly dramatic and almost entirely unmatched. Anyone who has ever been under the extreme pressures of stress or suffered cognitive dissonance following a bad judgement will definitely connect with this film. A great psychological thriller and a tour-de-force drama. Definitely one of the best films...if only it would be released on DVD!!

Lt Col Serling (Denzel Washington) leads a squad of tanks in the first Gulf War. He accidentally destroys one of his own tanks in a friendly fire incident. Washington Post reporter Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn) is after the story. Serling is relegated to a desk job. He's assigned to determine if medical helicopter pilot Cpt Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan) should be the first woman to receive a Medal of Honor for combat. The White House is very eager. However, there is more than one version of the incident which resulted in her death.

I love several things about this movie. Denzel is perfect as always. He needs to hold the center while having a compelling emotional story. Meg Ryan does the hardest acting of her career by bringing different versions of her character to life. Lou Diamond Phillips is great. Matt Damon is unrecognizable. It also has the Rashômon style of storytelling. I love that method. It feels more compelling than the straight forward way. It also feels more real with differing point of views.