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We Were Soldiers (2002)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 143
Fresh: 90 | Rotten: 53

The war cliches are laid on a bit thick, but the movie succeeds at putting a human face on soldiers of both sides in the Vietnam War.

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 9

The war cliches are laid on a bit thick, but the movie succeeds at putting a human face on soldiers of both sides in the Vietnam War.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 181,222

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Movie Info

Screenwriter Randall Wallace, a specialist in sweeping historical epics, steps behind the camera for this fact-based Vietnam War drama that reunites him with his Braveheart (1995) star Mel Gibson. Gibson is Lt. Col. Hal Moore, commander of the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, the same regiment fatefully led by George Armstrong Custer. As part of the Pleiku Campaign of late 1965, Moore is assigned to an action at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Drang Valley, an area that would come to be known as the

R, 2 hr. 17 min.

Drama

Directed By: Randall Wallace

Written By: Randall Wallace

In Theaters: Mar 1, 2002 Wide

On DVD: Aug 20, 2002

Box Office:$78.1M

Paramount Pictures

We Were Soldiers Trailer & Photos

More Photos (21)

Cast

Mel Gibson
Lt. Col. Harold G. Moor...
Sam Elliott
SGM Basil Plumley
Clark Gregg
Denis Leary
Keri Russell
Barbara Geoghegan
Madeleine Stowe
Julie Moore
Dylan Walsh
Greg Kinnear
Major Bruce Crandall
Blake Heron
Spec. 4 Galen Bungum
Ryan Hurst
Barry Pepper
Joseph L. Galloway
Don Duong
Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An
Chris Klein
Lt. John L. Geoghegan
Desmond Harrington
Taylor Momsen
Marc Blucas
Jon Hamm
Robert Bagnell
1st Lt. Charlie Hasting...
Josh Daugherty
Spec. 4 Bob Ouellette
Jsu Garcia
Capt. Tony Nadal
Erik MacArthur
Spec. 4 Russell Adams

Critic Reviews for We Were Soldiers

All Critics (165) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (93) | Rotten (53) | DVD (29)

Probably the best thing you can say about We Were Soldiers is that it does justice to an awful conflict.

July 20, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

| Comment

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

Makes you cry for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who died so pointlessly with Geoghegan. And their orphans.

March 22, 2002 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comment

David Edelstein

Slate

Top Critic

As I settled into my World War II memories, I found myself strangely moved by even the corniest and most hackneyed contrivances.

March 14, 2002 Full Review Source: New York Observer

| Comment

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

After suffering through We Were Soldiers, I think I've seen all the war movies I care to endure for quite some time.

March 13, 2002 Comment

Rex Reed

New York Observer

Top Critic

By comparison, Oliver Stone's Platoon plays like the experience of a sensibly outraged man worthy of our sympathy.

March 5, 2002 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comments (2)

Michael Atkinson

Village Voice

Top Critic

The battle sequences in We Were Soldiers aren't quite as head-spinning as in Black Hawk Down -- but this film does a much better job of establishing the characters before they plunge into battle.

March 4, 2002 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

One of the most violent movies ever released.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

The war genre, vigorously energized with Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down, takes several steps backward with this old-fashioned moralistic saga, a tribute not only to the soldiers in combat in Vietnam but also to the homefront.

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

I was impressed by Wallace's emphasis of Moore's faith, but the violence struck me as excessive, taking valuable time that could have been used to develop characters.

December 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Looking Closer

| Comment

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

... A fitting tribute to all the men and women who have fought and died for their country -- and for each other.

January 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

| Comment

Greg Maki

Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Gibson wears a rictus of distaste which seems more suggestive of dodgy on-set catering than the horrors of combat.

October 19, 2003 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph

| Comment

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph

Mais uma patriotada que mostra os americanos matando milhares de vietcongues, mas sendo mais 'humanos' que os inimigos.

July 25, 2003 Comment

Pablo Villaca

Cinema em Cena

—

Ultimately, it staggers out bloodied, partially bowed, but at least not totally beaten.

February 13, 2003 Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

| Comment

Tom Grealis

RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

...A gripping, fast-moving film that will be added to the short list of quality movies focused on the U.S. conflict in Vietnam.

February 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Quips Online

| Comment

John R. McEwen

Film Quips Online

Almost always competent, but never brilliant. Its textbook approach to moviemaking is so common in Hollywood war films that it can't be called new or enlightening.

January 13, 2003 Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment

| Comment (1)

Andrew Manning

Radio Free Entertainment

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for We Were Soldiers

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Its just so cliche. The action, music, and acting aren't motivating at all. The montage sequences drone on. Its just not that great.

February 7, 2012

paul oh

Super Reviewer

I didn't like this war movie very much. I'm a huge fan of war movies and there has been some truly amazing , brillant war movies but i don't think this one is up to scratch.

October 28, 2007

Film Crazy

Super Reviewer

We Were Soldiers Quotes

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1. Major Bruce Crandall: To save innocent and vulnerable people by any means is not called a 'war' between two or more countries its called a genuine and good cause to be there.Americans did not loose a war, they did not surrender, they showed and left an example for other countries to reach for those in need, any day, any time any where in any circumstances, despite having any faith. That's a cause. A reason to live .
– Submitted by Ikramuddin A (48 days ago)
1. Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An: Those who are about to fight and die, I am grateful.
– Submitted by Geoff T (3 months ago)
1. Joseph L. Galloway: [narrating] We who have seen war, will never stop seeing it. In the silence of the night, we will always hear the screams. So this is our story, for we were soldiers once, and young.
– Submitted by Geoff T (3 months ago)
1. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore: I will be the first man to walk on to the battlefield, and the last to walk off!
– Submitted by Justin K (8 months ago)

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