We Were Soldiers

We Were Soldiers videos

Cast & Crew

Mel Gibson

Hal Moore

Madeleine Stowe

Julie Moore

Greg Kinnear

Maj. Bruce Crandall

Sam Elliott

Sgt-Maj. Basil Plumley

Chris Klein

Lt. Jack Geoghegan

Keri Russell

Barbara Geoghegan

Barry Pepper

Joe Galloway

Đơn Dương

Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An

Ryan Hurst

Sgt. Ernie Savage

Robert Bagnell

Charlie Hastings

Marc Blucas

Lt. Herrick

Josh Daugherty

Ouelette

Jsu Garcia

Capt. Nadal

Jon Hamm

Capt. Matt Dillon

Clark Gregg

Capt. Tom Metsker

Desmond Harrington

Sp4 Bill Beck

Blake Heron

Sp4 Galen Bungum

Erik MacArthur

Sp4 Russell Adams

Dylan Walsh

Capt. Robert Edwards

Randall Wallace

Director

Joe Galloway

Writer

Hal Moore

Writer

Randall Wallace

Screenwriter

Bruce Davey

Producer

Jim Lemley

Executive Producer

Danielle Lemmon

Associate Producer

Stephen McEveety

Producer

Arne Schmidt

Co-Producer

Randall Wallace

Producer

Steve Zapotoczny

Associate Producer

Nick Glennie-Smith

Original Music

Dean Semler

Cinematographer

William Hoy

Film Editing

Amanda Mackey

Casting

Cathy Sandrich

Casting

Thomas E. Sanders

Production Design

Daniel T. Dorrance

Art Director

James F. Truesdale

Art Director

Gary Fettis

Set Decoration

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Critic Reviews for We Were Soldiers

Audience Reviews for We Were Soldiers

• Jan 20, 2018

  I forgot how good this film was a war film. It should the human side of the Vietnam War and the tragic and unnecessary loss of life involved. With a great performance from Mel Gibson to boot. A very underrated classic that is both gripping and enthralling.

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  Super Reviewer
• Dec 02, 2015

  A really well made movie about the war in Viatnam, It does justice in remembering those who lost their lives in battle with a very gripping and emotional film, The film itself is just one giant battle and it's very well done and very realistic, Some of the best war action scenes in film even by today's films, Mel Gibson was great but the best performances were from the wives of the soldiers that made us feel their loss with some great acting, Overall it's very underrated, Very action packed but it's about more than just the action and should be rememberd that way.

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  Super Reviewer
• Jul 01, 2014

  It's "Braveheart II", or "The Patriot II", or something, because this is Mel Gibson back to being a man of honor and heart... until you cross him, at which point, he'll show you just how much heart you have, literally. William Wallace is back, and this time, he's taking on Vietnam, y'all! I joke but this film is co-produced, directed and written by Randall Wallace, who actually wrote "Braveheart", but just wrote, so here, he can really bring life to his bloody set pieces. Well, actually, I'd expect William Wallace in 'Nam to be less brutal than "Braveheart", because Mel Gibson seems to have a greater taste for war gore as a filmmaker than anyone, as you can tell by the war films she chooses to act in, alone. If anyone knows how to be patriotic and violent at the same time, it's Mel Gibson, so I'm going to go ahead and call bull on the title saying that he and his buddies "were" soldiers, because Gibson shan't retire his career in the movie military until he's in an Australian war film. I'm at least glad that they trimmed down the novel's title of "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young", because it's awkward enough when you take out of account that Sam Elliott has pretty much never been young, and that Madeleine Stowe will probably never get old. Now that is one pretty lady, and I wish there was a little more of her here, because things get a little dull when we're not seeing her face... or seeing someone else's face get blown off, for although the film is decent, excitement is not too much more limited than censorship here. Well, I exaggerate the degree to which this film dries up when Randall Wallace's storytelling dips both into thoughtfulness and in material, but make no mistake, there are some surprisingly limp slow spells here which really defuse momentum through a certain, sometimes almost dull tonal chilling which is all too often broken by extremes. Quite frankly, among the most extreme issues with this film is sentimentality that is sometimes surprisingly overbearing with its abused of thematic visuals and near-cloying scoring in order to craft abrasive moments in tone which range from unnerving to almost embarrassingly sappy, and are made all the more aggravating from a trite sense which derives from formulaic storytelling. Rotten Tomatoes' consensus boasts that the "war clich[é]s are laid on a bit thick", but, in my opinion, they would be greater were it not for some potentially refreshing elements that, as cruel irony would have it, also make it all the more difficult to ignore the genericisms which do stand, and firm I might add, cheesing a few things up with clichéd dialogue and character types, and further retarding dramatic momentum by establishing a sense of predictability. It's not especially hard to tell where the drama is heading, so it's hard to justify the final product's taking too long to reach its expected points, because, at 139 minutes, this surprisingly minimalist war flick makes those aforementioned dry spells all the more detrimental to a sense of momentum by slowing things down, even in a script that particularly gets overdrawn with, of all things, its action sequences, which go on for so long that, despite the adequate dynamicity, monotony sets in to further water down dramatic kick. Of course, the fat around the edges go beyond the action, because when the film gets back to plot, it gets mighty carried away, slowly, but surely packing on layer upon layer, and subplot upon subplot, to the point of focal inconsistencies and even a hint of convolution, and the more the film tries to beef things up, the thinner a sense of meat gets. The film kicks off with a very promising development segment that draws plenty of intriguing aspects which could have gone into making a gripping opus, but once the body is reached, oddly enough, genuine dramatic value dips, never lost, but nonetheless in a manner that would be hard enough for Randall Wallace to compensate for, without all of the slow spells, overwrought sentimentality, genericisms and excess in action and plotting that drive the final product short of rewarding. The film could have been very underwhelming, if not worse, it gets so flimsy at times, and yet, with all my complaints about misguided overambition and lazy missteps, there are plenty of strengths, perhaps even conceptual intrigue fit for a more rewarding drama. Spreading focus among various military men, and even touching upon the struggles of military wives back home, yet still rather thin in scale once it reaches an arguably overly action-oriented body, this film's story concept is simultaneously overblown and minimalist, and not even particularly refreshing, but it's hard to not pay respects to this idea for all of the layers and dramatic and thematic value found in the concept, alone, and done some justice by some commendable aspects in writing. Randall Wallace's efforts, at least as screenwriter, are never too impressive, and really start to go south when the particularly formulaic and excessive body is reached, but the sheer audacity to flesh out this still very rich story is respectable, and when tightness is found in plot structuring and characterization, that's when Wallace truly delivers on glimpses of what could have been. Of course, Wallace's writing would establish these glimpses so clearly if it wasn't for Wallace's efforts as director, which admittedly particularly thrive on technical value, solid scene staging and an audacious, if often overtly disturbing attention to violence that result in some killer action which, for all its excessiveness, is just tight and dynamic enough to entertain, and resonate when accompanied by inspiration in dramatic storytelling. Mind you, when Wallace places his grip on sentimentality, he tends to lose focus on when exactly to stop squeezing, until the film becomes kind of cloying, yet when the orchestration of memorably weighty visuals and Nick Glennie-Smith's trite, but decent score is realized, the resonance is almost piercing in its, as put best by Rotten Tomatoes' consensus, "putting a human face on soldiers of both sides in the Vietnam War". The film is so messy so often, and I hate that, because when the film hits as a drama, it hits hard, with tension and tenderness which fit subject matter of this nature like a glove, and keep a genuine human heart pumping fairly well, though not as much as the characters' portrayals. If nothing else keeps consistent with its effectiveness more-or-less throughout the final product, it is the performances, because just about everyone, at one time or another, shines, whether it be Barry Pepper as a journalist who sees more horror than he ever could have predicted, or Greg Kinnear as a military superior who must be prepared to face tragedy, or Madeleine Stowe as a military wife who must share with her peers news she dreads receiving herself, or the show-stealing Mel Gibson as a good and proud man of honor, brotherhood and war who must lead his men to gruesome dangers, and face the burden of witnessing the devastating aftermath. Gibson and his peers define much of the heart and soul of this drama, but not alone, because no matter how misguided Wallace gets to be, what is done right is done well enough compel reasonably and consistently, if improvably. In the end, when Randall Wallace's directorial tone doesn't dry out, it bombards, with a certain sentimentality that, alongside conventions, excess and unevenness, defuse the final product's momentum, until reward value is lost, all but retained by nonetheless worthy subject matter, well-rounded writing highlights, thrilling action, resonant dramatic highlights, and across-the-board strong performances which make "We Were Soldiers" a plenty decent, if plenty flimsy portrait on the horrors of war. 2.75/5 - Decent

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  Super Reviewer
• May 27, 2013

  We Were Soldiers is a powerful and gritty war film from writer/director Randall Wallace. Based on a memoir, the story follows the Army's 7th Cavalry as they engage in the first major conflict between American and North Vietnamese forces. The writing is especially good, and does an excellent job at keeping track of the battle and at developing the characters. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Barry Pepper, Madeleine Stowe, and Keri Russell, the performances are quite impressive. And, Wallace does an outstanding job at capturing the brutality of war; giving a remarkably realistic depiction of combat conditions. Additionally, the score perfectly complements the film. Extremely well-made, We Were Soldier delivers an extraordinary look at warfare.

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  Super Reviewer