In between drinking cans of Fosters beer, Australian soldiers tread on a few landmines, and generally experience the war in Vietnam. A group of Australian SAS regiment soldiers are deployed to Vietnam around 1967/8 and encounter the realities of war, from the numbing boredom of camp life and long range patrols, raids and ambushes where nothing happens, to the the terror of enduring mortar barrages from an unseen enemy. Men die and are crippled in combat by firefights and booby traps, soldiers kill and capture the enemy, gather intelligence and retake ground only to cede it again whilst battling against the bureaucracy and obstinacy of the conventional military hierarchy. In the end they return to civilization, forever changed by their experiences but glad to return to the life they once knew. This movie is quite simply outstanding. The writing, acting and general production talent are first rate. If you're looking for non-stop intense war action scenes and high drama, this isn't it, nor what the subject of the movie is about although some of that is there. Ultimately, it is about enduring hardship and perseverance. I saw this movie on cable 35 years ago and it has stuck with me since then. I also watched it a few days ago and found it has much greater insight for me through my own life experiences, now that I myself am a veteran. The dialogue really makes this movie the gem that it is. Funny, satirical, and containing very harsh truths about military service and society in general. All around well done. ignore all the reviews saying this is a good film, personally i found it to be nothing like what was portrayed in full metal jacket, platoon or any of the other Vietnam films in fact it felt like an old dads army film complete with bad jokes and terrible music. All the jokes made in the film were really lame and staged and no effort was made to give any of the characters in the film any character, i didn't even know any of their names. The movie had no plot and to top it off the music at the end is absolutely shocking i had to turn it down and watch it in silence before actually turning it off early and cursing having wasted an hour and a half of my life on it. I then apologised to my friends for putting through such a lame movie and we all laughed and agreed it was the biggest load of crap we had all ever watched. VERY FRUSTRATING
Janydaw replied
291 weeks ago