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Courage Under Fire

Play trailer Poster for Courage Under Fire R Released Jul 12, 1996 1h 55m Action Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 58 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
During the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) accidentally caused a friendly fire incident, a mistake that was hushed up by his superiors. Following the war, he is assigned to investigate the case of Army Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), killed in action when her Medevac unit was attempting to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. But, as Serling interviews the members of Walden's crew, he realizes their stories about the incident don't add up.
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Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire

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Critics Consensus

An emotional and intriguing tale of a military officer who must review the merits of a fallen officer while confronting his own war demons. Effectively depicts the terrors of war as well as its heartbreaking aftermath.

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Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader What emerges may not be quite as cut-and-dried as the movie’s structure sometimes implies. Jun 14, 2022 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Washington, subtle, moving and charismatic, anchors the movie...Zwick's movie is solid, honorable and well crafted, but when all the veils have dropped and the mysteries solved, it feels tidier and more melodramatic than it promised. Feb 27, 2018 Full Review Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Its central mystery is compelling even though it takes some time before we finally get to the truth. And even though the emotion is pretty thick in the final 15 minutes it still feels earned. Rated: 4/5 Aug 19, 2022 Full Review Mark Jackson Epoch Times If a woman in command has wounded soldiers that need protecting from enemy forces, and her maternal instinct kicks in-look out. Rated: 4/5 Aug 5, 2021 Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media Military drama deploys plenty of violence, swearing. Rated: 3/5 Sep 14, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (692) audience reviews
rashid W They wouldn't make this movie today! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/03/23 Full Review John A Zwick's non-linear character study has some strong acting and the screenplay has enough intelligence to avoid being schmaltzy or too saccharine in it's final act. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/28/23 Full Review Grant M I can't believe this movie is only getting a 66% audience score on RT--Great story, great actors, great acting. One of my all time favorite movies--and one that I originally didn't even want to see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/23/23 Full Review Audience Member The acting was excellent! And although I figured out the ending of the movie early in the movie, I liked the plot line a lot. The action things were expertly produced and gave the feel of being right there in it. I also thought the dialog was well done as well as the costumes and music. It's a well-produced movie, and I loved the characters and the way they were developed and presented throughout the movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Denzel Washington is a military officer with a black mark in his past investigating the events around a medical helicopter going down during the Gulf War. As he investigates, he finds that the stories of the survivors don't quite add up. Stellar cast, good pacing, thrilling conclusion. Solid military mystery. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member During the Gulf War Colonel Nathaniel Sterling is caught in the middle of a firing accident He comes home to find out what really happened but his superiors want him to bury it Captain Karen Walden is his assignment to investigate after she's killed during a medevac mission of a downed helicopter There's more to the story though as several crew members each have a different version of what happened All that matters is Sterling finding out the truth What is honor? What is glory? What is valor? What is any of our heroics without knowing the full extent of it? The trailer makes you think this investigation will be colliding with the war scenes but no The layout is just switching from the present of Sterling digging to find answers then randomly cutting to Walden in flashbacks I didn't like the layout of this The sleuthing scenes are so slow and boring It stinks too all these actors never share the same scenes together This movie is also too damn long Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Courage Under Fire

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis During the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) accidentally caused a friendly fire incident, a mistake that was hushed up by his superiors. Following the war, he is assigned to investigate the case of Army Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), killed in action when her Medevac unit was attempting to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. But, as Serling interviews the members of Walden's crew, he realizes their stories about the incident don't add up.
Director
Edward Zwick
Producer
John Davis, David T. Friendly, Joseph Singer
Screenwriter
Patrick Sheane Duncan
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Fox 2000 Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Action, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 12, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$59.0M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Surround
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