Ambush

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.

Why was Lt Col Miller showing the rank of a full bird col? Why were they calling a corporal Sir & how did he get command of a firebase? It was a shocking movie . Terrible script & pretty bad acting. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone .. rating 0 star. I myself am a Vietnam Veteran Australian army 1971 - 72 & found the movie bland & unmatchable. I'm finding it hard to submit the required number of characters so I can submit this review. All I can say is don't waste your time watching this movie. I can't see how anyone could submit the required characters .. my main question is the Lt Col showing rank full bird Col?

Don't know who they hired as military advisor on this movie or if they even had one. Uniforms were wrong, ranks were wrong, military courtesies were wrong, weapons were wrong for the time period. Acting was bad which I did not expect with actors like Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Thomas Janes in the cast. I know it's a movie and for entertainment but as a retired Marine with over twenty three years of active service as well as a history buff I was greatly disappointed in the film it had just too many errors to be enjoyed. I can't believe that I paid $15 for this movie that I will probably never watch again.

When I sat down to watch "Ambush", I figured that chances were that it would prove a good movie since it had the likes of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Eckhart on the cast list.

However, prior to sitting down and watching this movie from director Mark Burman, I hadn't even heard about it. So I wasn't sure what I was in for here, aside from it being a Vietnam War movie of sorts.

Writers Mark Burman, Johnny Lozano, Michael McClung and Dillon Slack put together a fair enough script for the storyline here. And while "Ambush" certainly was interesting enough, the movie was ultimately sort of nondistinctive, and it sort of feels like a movie that snuck in under the radar and will just as quietly fade into oblivion. The movie didn't leave a particularly lasting impression with me. While "Ambush" was watchable, it should be noted that there are far, far better Vietnam War-based movies out there.

The acting in the movie was good, but I feel a little bit cheated out of something, as neither Jonathan Rhys Meyers or Aaron Eckhart weren't playing all that big roles in the movie. Meyers did, however, have a bit more on-screen time than Eckhart, but they weren't leading performers. I guess they were top billed solely to lure in the audience.

"Ambush" was filmed in a good manner, because it felt like the audience were right there alongside the US soldiers as they ventured into unknown territory as they realized that the Viet Cong troops were using subterranean tunnels in their warfare. There was a particular sense of intense tension and claustrophobia throughout the course of the 104 minutes that the movie ran for, and that definitely helped carry the movie.

For a war movie then director Mark Burman delivered a watchable movie, albeit not a particularly outstanding movie. This is the type of movie that you watch once, then shelf it and forget about it.

My rating of "Ambush" lands on a five out of ten stars.

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.