‎We Were Soldiers (2002) directed by Randall Wallace • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

We Were Soldiers

2002 Directed by Randall Wallace

400 U.S paratroopers. 4,000 Vietnamese soldiers. 12,000 miles away from home. 1 man led them into battle.

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.

Mel Gibson Greg Kinnear Madeleine Stowe Sam Elliott Chris Klein Keri Russell Barry Pepper Clark Gregg Marc Blucas Jsu Garcia Robert Bagnell Blake Heron Josh Daugherty Jon Hamm Dylan Walsh Erik MacArthur Mark McCracken Desmond Harrington Đơn Dương Ryan Hurst Brian Tee Sloane Momsen Bellamy Young Simbi Khali Jim Grimshaw Forry Smith Steven Nelson Vincent Angell Michael Tomlinson Show All…

Alternative Titles

越战忠魂, 我们曾是士兵, 梅爾吉勃遜—勇士們, Fuimos soldados, Бяхме войници, Ήμασταν κάποτε στρατιώτες, Bili smo vojnici, Once and Forever, Mes buvome kariai, Fomos Soldados..., Am fost cîndva soldati... si tineri, Bir zamanlar askerdik, Fuimos Heroes

action war history

138 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Tarryn-tino ★★★★★ 1

Why this film is one of my favourites:

-Mel Gibson
-The raw emotion that is portrayed
-Sam Elliott, seriously his lines are amazing
-The all-star cast
-The pyrotechnics
-The brutal story

We Were Soldiers will always be one of my favourite war films, I can't even give a detailed reason, beyond what I gave above above, I have just always loved it. I love a film that can make me feel as much emotion as this one does, even after a dozen or so watches.
Review by Joe Zappulla

Movie #3 of my I’m Gonna Watch Every Jon Hamm Movie But Only The Scenes That Jon Hamm’s In series.

This was probably the least enjoyable in my Jon Hamm series yet. It was very difficult to tell when Jon Hamm was in a scene as the screenplay was not available online, and it was hard to make out the non Mel Gibson characters amid the chaos of combat.

Jon Hamm plays Capt. Matt Dillon, who's name is only said once when Mel Gibson orders him to alert some other squad while they are getting shot at. Hamm gets the juicy line of barking army mumbo jumbo like charlie and bravo and all that fun stuff. He performs it as…
Review by Sean Cordy ★★★½ 1

I went in with the skepticism of it being purely jingoistic and xenophobic. At first I seemed to be correct - that this was a film that would inspire many a generation to be soldiers, and lead children across playgrounds to play "War". Maybe there's some oversight here, but its execution and political structure went hand-in-hand to provide a insightful look into war.

War films are always a touchy topic - at their disposal they can debate the morality of war, as well as the politics, and criticize or praise what was done (as a means to silence the opposition.) This is especially true of Vietnam War films, as there was a plethora of things done "wrong" politically and morally,…
Review by ZombAid ★★½

Well, at least in this Movie America won the Vietnam-War...

This movie is so trenched in patriotism, that it's sickening, with false bravado and a beyond senseless fight for nothing. Not one criticism about the War and America's involvement in said combat.
And of course, Mel comes home...

By the way: Who thought, that the German Title We Were Heroes was the right call? Who was a hero here? I just saw stupid people, going to a war where nobody really saw any positive about this conflict.
58'000 people died for the most stupid war, America has yet entered.
Review by Jacob Olsen ½ 7

I'm sorry, couldn't take this overly patriotic attempt at glorifying the Vietnam war and the Americans who fought in it. Stopped watching after 35 minutes.
Review by Matt ★★★★

"He died keeping my promise."

We Were Soldiers is a very underrated and ignored war film of the 21st century.

Does it have some cliches and formulatic story structure? Yes. But what makes this film so great is that is executes it's cliches in an emotional, realistic and non-cliche manner.

Mel Gibson's performance is simply one of his best and the rest of the cast are respectable in their roles. And solid kid acting is always a plus.

This movie has great internal and emotional emotion that really got to me and since it's the Fourth of July, it really made me feel respect for the soldiers at war.

Randall Wallace, as the director, really puts you into the film…

Recent reviews

Review by DanAndNancy ★★★★

“We Were Soldiers” is the story of the first major battle of the Vietnam War. It is based on actual events and the book, “We were soldiers once, and young.” Mel Gibson stars as Lt. Gen. Harold Moore of the U.S. Air Calvary. He and his troops are badly out-numbered as they battle the Viet Kong but they must find a way to survive and win the battle. Also starring Greg Kinnear (“Someone Like You”), Barry Pepper (“Saving Private Ryan”), and Chris Klein (“American Pie”). Rated ‘R’ for graphic war violence and language. Time spent hoping that someday we will run out of wars to make movies about: 138 minutes.

Nancy’s Take: War, not a word most Americans like to…
Review by AB ★★

I cliche war film, it might have even coined some of the troupes we know of every great war film. A stellar cast and great effects. Sometimes it hits you over the head with the messages of patriotism and pathos but overall a worth it watch if war films are your favorite.
Review by MasterYoda9000 ★★★½

Good movie but there are better war films out there. Grade: B
Review by ZombAid ★★½

Well, at least in this Movie America won the Vietnam-War...

This movie is so trenched in patriotism, that it's sickening, with false bravado and a beyond senseless fight for nothing. Not one criticism about the War and America's involvement in said combat.
And of course, Mel comes home...

By the way: Who thought, that the German Title We Were Heroes was the right call? Who was a hero here? I just saw stupid people, going to a war where nobody really saw any positive about this conflict.
58'000 people died for the most stupid war, America has yet entered.
Review by TadKosciuszko ★★★★½

Underestimated my love for this movie when I was originally rating it. Truly one of the best war movies ever, and certainly of this century. The hardest part of a war movie is keeping it entertaining before the shooting starts. When I was watching this I was sure the fighting had started just fifteen minutes after the film had. I paused to check and I was 45 minutes into the movie. The way this film creates so many simple yet lovable characters is fantastic, and that’s what keep you hooked through the training. The devoted study of Col. Moore and the great one liners from Sgt. Maj. Plummely. The fighting scenes are great, the NVA perspective is interesting, and the heart is there. I don’t hate the voice over but the conclusions it draws are too simplistic for it to be necessary and I think one of the weakest parts of the film.
Review by Dan Hassler-Forest ★★★★

Corny as hell, but damn if this doesn’t have one of the single most effective protracted battle scenes in all of Hollywood’s long history of glorifying warfare.
Review by Cinemaniac1978 ★★★½

theater
Review by anchron ★★★½

- Daddy what is war?
- War is... uhm... well... it's...

War is easier than daughters. - Lord Eddard Stark.
Review by Reece Beckett ★★

Well performed and seemingly quite accurate, but this just feels so long due to the repetitive story and the messy structure.