Courage Under Fire [16]

Does a women deserve a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for meritorious conduct above and beyond the call of duty? That is the question that Lt. Col. Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) must answer about Capt. Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan. ) In the process, Col. Serling must exorcise his own mental war demons. An emaciated Matt Damon plays a chain-smoking specialist medic who witnesses the event in question. Lou Diamond Phillips brings his own version of the story as the rough and tough copter gunner. The movie tells you what you might guess, that earning medals is not so glorious and glamorous.

I would like to know what M.O.H. recipient/actor Audie Murphy really saw that Hollywood could not show us in his biographical story: To Hell and Back. I liked all the characters in this movie EXCEPT Meg Ryan's. (Begin Soapbox) She had to hold the men under her command at gunpoint to keep them from running from the battle. Is that meritorious conduct? My opinion is that her character did not have the strength of will to be a commanding officer. (END Soapbox). The battle scenes are effective and exciting. If you feel like playing war, rent this one. {BB}

Added: April 7th 2004
Reviewer: BB
29 Point Scale Score:    [16]

Related Link (IMDB): IMDB
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Language: english