So frustrating. It's a cracker story - and the story is done justice. It looks handsome. There was a big budget. Most of the cast are great - Travis Fimmell and Luke Bracey are strong leads and people like Stephen Peacocke are ideal soldier types. The music is terrific.
But when it goes wrong it goes really wrong. In 2019 you should not be having scenes where someone talks about their upcoming marriage just before being shot. Or comic relief Irishmen. Or scenes where Little Pattie just blandly smiles. Or scenes where when a base is under mortar attack you've got soldiers wanting to continue their poker game and smoke and drink beer on guard duty. When the base is under mortar attack!!! (In contrast scenes like Tony Hayes demanding vehicles stop to collect him instead of going to the rescue of the soldiers feel very realistic).
The movie actually didn't need to cost as much as it did - you didn't need POV of the helicopters or planes or endless drone shots. They would've been better off focusing on little moments and characters - building suspense, because those are effective.
The film also gives no voice to the Vietnamese. They could have just done a Zulu and had one opening scene which dealt with their side then switched to the Aussie POV. There's no allowance that it's their country. It sure would have made the movie a richer experience.
This should have been a really solid war film, because the story is strong and it was given the budget to do it justice, but there's too many silly moments like Travis Fimmell standing up with a pistol as the Vietnamese run in. It's a shame.
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