Reaction Paper on the Movie Gi Jane
Msg Marcelito S Adriano 723484 (FA) PA Subject:Reaction Papers on We Were Soldiers As I watched the movie” We Were Soldiers” I recall what is happening in any unit, as the Battalion Commander, Company Commander, Platoon Leaders, Sergeant Major and Troops portray different roles. Leader shows set as an example. He is intelligent, thinking, brave and determined leader. He studies the nature of his enemy carefully. He won’t ask to his man to do, if he can’t do it by himself. He trains his men thoroughly, preparing them for the incoming mission. The Leaders influence the thoughts, attitudes and behaviors of others.
It is, therefore, important that their morale is kept high so that they are ready for sacrifice whenever necessity arises. The officers have their own responsibility for commanding the soldiers in combat which is the greatest challenge for each of them even for the risk of their lives. The soldiers shows leadership as they oblige to set one direction for the rest of them, they help each other what lies ahead, they also help to visualize what they want to achieve, they were encourage and inspire to meet their mission. A responsible family man shows also to this movie.
The image of a father which shows closeness to his children, concern for the future of his family and a better husband to his wife. The movie shows an ordinary soldier which other people cannot be seen it. So it is better that the filmmaker produce this kind of movie so that we can give a recognition to our soldier. won’t ask man to do what he won’t do himself: “I will be the first to step on the field and I will be the last to step off,” he assures his troops. He reads books and studies the nature of his enemy carefully. He trains his men meticulously, preparing them for the ominous battle to come. Men will die,” he tells his troops, knowing that he and his men are at a disadvantage against an enemy on their own turf. In addition to Gibson, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliot, Barry Pepper, and Keri Russell all give outstanding, A+ performances.
Kinnear plays Bruce Crandall, a chopper pilot showing determination and courage while still revealing his fear of death in the course of battle. Pepper plays Joe Galloway, the journalist who rides into the heat of battle to get his story first-hand. (Just wait until you hear his reason for becoming a journalist instead of a soldier. And in spite of my personal disdain for her character on the WB’s Felicity, Russell inspires us as a strong-willed mother, in spite of the possibility of losing her husband Jack Geoghegan (Chris Klein) at war. The film does an exceptional job of transitioning from place-to-place, whether from one area of the battlefield to another, to the women and children back home, you always have a good sense of where things are happening and when they’re taking place. When one platoon is cut off from the rest of the soldiers, when riverbeds are won and lost, you know exactly what effect it has on the battle.
You experience first-hand the grave danger these soldiers experienced. You mourn their deaths and cheer their victories because in spite of the fact that you’re sitting in a movie theater, you feel like you’re there in battle with them, facing the possibility of death, witnessing the horror of it all. Writer-director Randall Wallace (The Man in the Iron Mask) spends a fair amount of time showing us what is going on behind enemy lines from the point of view of the North Vietnamese. I first heard this was an element of the film before I saw it and was afraid they were going to portray the communist North Vietnamese in a sympathetic light.
But, interestingly, these scenes added to the drama and suspense of the film. We see what each leader is thinking and planning for the next attack, which only builds more suspense in anticipation of the next scene to come. A sense of family is well-portrayed among the soldiers, and especially among the wives at home. Madeleine Stowe plays Julie Moore, the wife of Lt. Col. Moore. She heads up the group of wives, giving moral support and preparing them as best she can for the possible death of their husbands. She and Russell show us the chilling events of how they dealt with relaying the notices of the deaths of their friends’ husbands.
What is lacking in the film is mention of how the war started, or that North Vietnam was communist. Although these are well-known facts, they are too important to pass over in a film about the Vietnam War. The filmmakers have been saying in their media appearances that this is an anti-war movie due to the graphic nature of the battle scenes. Be prepared: the battles scenes are graphic, but I did not come away thinking they were pro- or anti-war. The sheer quantity of gore can never trump the morality of why we fight a war.
These scenes only dramatize the risks of fighting a war, and who and what is at stake. The political elements shown in the film (e. g. , how we went into Vietnam unprepared, and failed to properly arm our men in the best way possible) only demonstrate, in my view, that if we do choose to fight a war, we must do so acknowledging the risks and then proceed with the moral certainty that our cause is right, with only one goal: to win. And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another.
