Ted Kotcheff directed this exciting adventure film that stars Gene Hackman as Marine Col. Jason Rhodes, who has become frustrated with his own(U.S.) governments refusal to launch a rescue mission into Vietnam to rescue P.O.W.s he believes are still there, including his own son. He is approached by a rich businessman named McGregor(played by Robert Stack) who agrees to finance his own rescue mission which he wants Rhodes to command, since he too has a son who is a P.O.W. Rhodes then recruits some marines(now civilians) to help him on the mission(played by Patrick Swayze, Tim Thomerson, Randal 'Tex' Cobb, Fred Ward, & Reb Brown) First they must train and prepare, then launch the rescue mission, which is quite dangerous for many reasons... Rousing film with a good cast and interesting premise(which would be re-used many times later!) A bit far-fetched perhaps, but good fun.
72 Reviews
Exciting and stirring film in which a brave unit returns Vietnam to rescue POWs
ma-cortes21 August 2011
Box-office hit of the 80s about a misfit team re-reunited by Gene Hackman to carry out a suicide mission behind enemy lines . A group of Vietnam vets are drafted to go on a near-suicide mission and to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese . ¨Uncommon valor¨ is an entertaining film with Gene Hackman who aware his son can still be alive and decides to go in after him . As Hackman is a tough officer along with the ordinary and troublesome team of unadapted ex-soldiers of Vietnam . The retired military man himself training a group of rebel and misfit soldiers for a dangerous assault on Laos. In the hands of hardboiled director Ted Kotcheff and a tough-as-leather cast headed by Hackman , that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring wartime flick . Supported by a rich businessman ,Robert Stack , whose son was also a POW, the bunch engages in a perilous and violent adventure attempting to rescue the POWs and at the same time re-direct their lives . Hackman's mission is two-fold and in violent style : first turn his soldiers into a hard fighting unit and later on they go to invade Laos in search of prisoners , still Missing in Action . The unit formed by diverse characters include a cocky hunk as Reb Brown , Harold Sylvester as a chronic malcontent , Randal Tex Cobb as a ready-to-blow nutty , Fred Ward as a lame-brained soldier , Tim Thomerson as old veteran and a beginner Patrick Swayze . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun as they get their tails whipped into shape and develop shaky relationship with their leader . The final part is all action, as the commando wreck havoc and then run for their lives. The relentless assignment is set against strong training, risked adventures and hazardous feats . The dangerous mission includes a two-fisted group formed by a motley and diverse squadron played by all-star cast of the 80s . This is a rugged actioner concerning about an experienced officer , Col. Rhodes , he undertakes training the valiant unit of soldiers that get a chance to redeem themselves . At the end they must participate in the suicidal mission behind the enemy lines , to wipe enemies and rescue prisoners by means of a violent assault over a strongly protected camp.
Gene Hackman as Colonel Rhodes who gathers a motley crew assumes the character of the leader in this thrilling war movie stunningly directed by Ted Kotcheff , being well scripted by Joe Gayton and uncredited by also actor Wing Hauser. This is a routine Actioner with prestigious star Gene Hackman as the Vietnam veteran resulting to be one of the best roles he'd made in the 80s , as he's fine as tough , cold , obstinate Colonel . This formula action/war/thriller packs frantic movement , perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the concentration camp , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by Gene Hackman into his rebel group , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough Hackman is good as leader of the motley pack together to thwart enemy camp , as well as the largely secondary cast with special mention to Randall Tex Cobb and Patrick Swayze . Atmospheric and exciting musical score by James Horner and appropriate cinematography filmed by cameraman Stephen Burum in several locations from Bangkok, Thailand ; Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA (Vietnam rice paddy);Indian Dunes, California, USA (Texas training camp); Lumahai Valley, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA (Laotian POW camp). This is is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨ Vietnam war genre¨ and regarding ¨rescue commandos¨, which also belong : ¨Rambo II¨ , and ¨Colonel Braddock¨ trilogy with Chuck Norris , all of them dealing with relentless soldiers attempting to free some American people still held prisoners in a far prison camp into Vietnam . Although the movie has some aspects a little tough to take , this moving film still has its fine moments getting an adequate atmosphere with agreeable results , furthermore grossed lot of money at the box office .
Gene Hackman as Colonel Rhodes who gathers a motley crew assumes the character of the leader in this thrilling war movie stunningly directed by Ted Kotcheff , being well scripted by Joe Gayton and uncredited by also actor Wing Hauser. This is a routine Actioner with prestigious star Gene Hackman as the Vietnam veteran resulting to be one of the best roles he'd made in the 80s , as he's fine as tough , cold , obstinate Colonel . This formula action/war/thriller packs frantic movement , perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the concentration camp , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . Apart from the values of team spirit , cudgeled by Gene Hackman into his rebel group , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough Hackman is good as leader of the motley pack together to thwart enemy camp , as well as the largely secondary cast with special mention to Randall Tex Cobb and Patrick Swayze . Atmospheric and exciting musical score by James Horner and appropriate cinematography filmed by cameraman Stephen Burum in several locations from Bangkok, Thailand ; Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA (Vietnam rice paddy);Indian Dunes, California, USA (Texas training camp); Lumahai Valley, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA (Laotian POW camp). This is is a wartime typical vehicle and into the ¨ Vietnam war genre¨ and regarding ¨rescue commandos¨, which also belong : ¨Rambo II¨ , and ¨Colonel Braddock¨ trilogy with Chuck Norris , all of them dealing with relentless soldiers attempting to free some American people still held prisoners in a far prison camp into Vietnam . Although the movie has some aspects a little tough to take , this moving film still has its fine moments getting an adequate atmosphere with agreeable results , furthermore grossed lot of money at the box office .
Action movie with a heart
Maziun28 July 2013
This forgotten little movie was probably inspiration for much more famous movie made later – Missing in action" with Chuck Norris (1984) and "Rambo 2 " with Sylvester Stallone (1985) . All three movies have a similar story , but it was Ted Kotcheff's (director of
"Rambo : First blood " made in 1982 ) movie that first used such story . Furthermore , it's actually based on real life story of Green Beret Colonel Bo Gritz (read the F.A.Q.) . From this three movies I think that "Rambo 2" is the best movie and "Missing in action" the worst. "Uncommon valor" is forgotten , but fun movie that is worth watching.
It's always a pleasure to have a Gene Hackman in a movie . His character is a strong , quiet and determined man who will do a lot to find his son . He's a true heart of the movie . Patrick Swayze also appears in this movie and gives a heartfelt performance, the best in his career . It was also good to see Randall "Tex" Cobb . He brings a lot of humor into the movie , while never making it campy. A silent hero of the movie for me is Fred Ward who plays a man with traumatic war past. The rest of the cast is also good. Watch out for Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") in a small role of Blaster's assistant.
The movie mainly concentrates on the characters and the relations between them . The training takes a lot of the movie time , yet it's never boring. It's interesting to watch it , because the filmmakers invest our feelings into the characters . When the final of the movie appears we care about what happens to the characters . That's a big plus for the movie. Still , people who like action might be disappointed. I wasn't. I give it 6/10.
It's always a pleasure to have a Gene Hackman in a movie . His character is a strong , quiet and determined man who will do a lot to find his son . He's a true heart of the movie . Patrick Swayze also appears in this movie and gives a heartfelt performance, the best in his career . It was also good to see Randall "Tex" Cobb . He brings a lot of humor into the movie , while never making it campy. A silent hero of the movie for me is Fred Ward who plays a man with traumatic war past. The rest of the cast is also good. Watch out for Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") in a small role of Blaster's assistant.
The movie mainly concentrates on the characters and the relations between them . The training takes a lot of the movie time , yet it's never boring. It's interesting to watch it , because the filmmakers invest our feelings into the characters . When the final of the movie appears we care about what happens to the characters . That's a big plus for the movie. Still , people who like action might be disappointed. I wasn't. I give it 6/10.
Surprisingly Good
SgtSlaughter22 April 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I went into this supposed trash 'Nam actioner with low expectations and had a pleasant surprise. It's actually one of the better Vietnam films out there, simply because it combines both and drama evenly without an over-reliance on either aspect.
Colonel Rhodes (Gene Hackman, A BRIDGE TOO FAR) recruits a band of Vietnam veterans to head back to Vietnam and rescue POWs. The team includes memory-plagued Wilkes (Fred Ward), young hotshot Blaster (Reb Brown, STRIKE COMMANDO), rough-'n-tumble Sailor (Randal "Tex" Cobb, THE DIRTY DOZEN: DEADLY MISSION), decent guy Johnson (Harold Sylvester), and aging Charts (Tim Thomerson, ZONE TROOPERS). Joining up at the last minute is new recruit Scott (Patrick Swayze, RED DAWN)
The film is pretty well-paced, dedicating the first 30 minutes to the recruitment of the men. Each on establishes their unique character as Hackman recruits them. Some jump on immediately; others don't want to return to Vietnam because of haunting memories, but do the decent thing in the end. There are some pretty efficient training scenes, and then it's off to Laos for the explosive finale.
The high point of the film is the climactic POW rescue, which involves a well-planned raid on a huge prisoner compound. Complete with lots of gunfire, explosions, shouting and one especially good bridge destruction shot, this tense scene will keep you on the edge of your seat. Instead of completely relying on guys getting shot for impact, though, there's also a few men who sacrifice themselves for their fellow soldiers - even though it's no longer their duty.
There's plenty of comedy, supplied by "Tex" Cobb as a slow-witted, incredibly strong oaf who participates in some good sight gags. I also liked the part in which the men get their weapons confiscated, so they must purchase a crate of dusty, WWII-era weapons to use.
The most powerful scene is when Hackman heads to recruit Fred Ward, who is at first unwilling to go back to Vietnam. His wife looks and acts the part of a troubled veteran's spouse perfectly as she tells of how she had to live through hell as her husband suffered nightmares and the like. Ward makes an impact throughout as he sleeps outside rather than in the barracks with the men. Why? It turns out he was trapped inside an NVA tunnel in the dark. He felt two bodies and knifed them. It turned out they were a mother and child. And even after he realized it, his men couldn't pull him out for hours because they were under fire. The way Reb Brown recounts the story made my jaw drop.
Hackman also delivers the good. I forgot to mention that he is so passionate about the mission because his son is one of the POWs. The grief is evident on his face as he runs throughout the burning camp finding other POWs - but not his son - as time runs out.
This film made me realize just how tough it was on families and comrades in arms to lose a son, father or husand in action.
Overall, a solid, well-directed, excellently acted and plenty entertaining helping of action and drama.
Colonel Rhodes (Gene Hackman, A BRIDGE TOO FAR) recruits a band of Vietnam veterans to head back to Vietnam and rescue POWs. The team includes memory-plagued Wilkes (Fred Ward), young hotshot Blaster (Reb Brown, STRIKE COMMANDO), rough-'n-tumble Sailor (Randal "Tex" Cobb, THE DIRTY DOZEN: DEADLY MISSION), decent guy Johnson (Harold Sylvester), and aging Charts (Tim Thomerson, ZONE TROOPERS). Joining up at the last minute is new recruit Scott (Patrick Swayze, RED DAWN)
The film is pretty well-paced, dedicating the first 30 minutes to the recruitment of the men. Each on establishes their unique character as Hackman recruits them. Some jump on immediately; others don't want to return to Vietnam because of haunting memories, but do the decent thing in the end. There are some pretty efficient training scenes, and then it's off to Laos for the explosive finale.
The high point of the film is the climactic POW rescue, which involves a well-planned raid on a huge prisoner compound. Complete with lots of gunfire, explosions, shouting and one especially good bridge destruction shot, this tense scene will keep you on the edge of your seat. Instead of completely relying on guys getting shot for impact, though, there's also a few men who sacrifice themselves for their fellow soldiers - even though it's no longer their duty.
There's plenty of comedy, supplied by "Tex" Cobb as a slow-witted, incredibly strong oaf who participates in some good sight gags. I also liked the part in which the men get their weapons confiscated, so they must purchase a crate of dusty, WWII-era weapons to use.
The most powerful scene is when Hackman heads to recruit Fred Ward, who is at first unwilling to go back to Vietnam. His wife looks and acts the part of a troubled veteran's spouse perfectly as she tells of how she had to live through hell as her husband suffered nightmares and the like. Ward makes an impact throughout as he sleeps outside rather than in the barracks with the men. Why? It turns out he was trapped inside an NVA tunnel in the dark. He felt two bodies and knifed them. It turned out they were a mother and child. And even after he realized it, his men couldn't pull him out for hours because they were under fire. The way Reb Brown recounts the story made my jaw drop.
Hackman also delivers the good. I forgot to mention that he is so passionate about the mission because his son is one of the POWs. The grief is evident on his face as he runs throughout the burning camp finding other POWs - but not his son - as time runs out.
This film made me realize just how tough it was on families and comrades in arms to lose a son, father or husand in action.
Overall, a solid, well-directed, excellently acted and plenty entertaining helping of action and drama.
The Dirty Dozen go to Vietnam
Leofwine_draca24 September 2011
This DIRTY DOZEN reimagining sees army colonel Gene Hackman leading a crack squad of former soldiers into the steamy jungles of Laos in search of American soldiers declared missing in action a decade previously. The story template is familiar but the central theme of hunting for MIA soldiers in Vietnam is good enough to have inspired later, more popular action films like the Chuck Norris MISSING IN ACTION vehicles and the Stallone-starring RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II.
Uncommon Valor is both similar to and different from those populist movies. In terms of last reel action, it more than holds its own with an explosive climax that involves storming a prisoner of war camp. However, there's much more to it as this film follows the DIRTY DOZEN mould closely, with plenty of time being taken up with recruitment and training. The characters are well drawn and there are enough decent actors around to make this a highly entertaining viewing experience. No-frills director Ted Kotcheff also handled the first Rambo outing, FIRST BLOOD, and he does another confident and assured job here.
And what a cast! One of the most interesting ensembles from the early 1980s. Hackman, as always, is the highlight of the film: tough, no-nonsense and yet filled with emotion lurking beneath that hard surface. Fred Ward (ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ) shows up as a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress, while bargain-basement muscleman Reb Brown (STRIKE COMMANDO) handles some comic scenes nicely. Then there's the larger-than-life Randall 'Tex' Cobb making an impression, Tim Thomerson prior to his B-movie career with Charles Band and, last but best of all, an extremely young Patrick Swayze giving a subtle and nuanced turn as the rookie of the group. You can see why Swayze went onto bigger and better things on the strength of his performance here.
Uncommon Valor is both similar to and different from those populist movies. In terms of last reel action, it more than holds its own with an explosive climax that involves storming a prisoner of war camp. However, there's much more to it as this film follows the DIRTY DOZEN mould closely, with plenty of time being taken up with recruitment and training. The characters are well drawn and there are enough decent actors around to make this a highly entertaining viewing experience. No-frills director Ted Kotcheff also handled the first Rambo outing, FIRST BLOOD, and he does another confident and assured job here.
And what a cast! One of the most interesting ensembles from the early 1980s. Hackman, as always, is the highlight of the film: tough, no-nonsense and yet filled with emotion lurking beneath that hard surface. Fred Ward (ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ) shows up as a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress, while bargain-basement muscleman Reb Brown (STRIKE COMMANDO) handles some comic scenes nicely. Then there's the larger-than-life Randall 'Tex' Cobb making an impression, Tim Thomerson prior to his B-movie career with Charles Band and, last but best of all, an extremely young Patrick Swayze giving a subtle and nuanced turn as the rookie of the group. You can see why Swayze went onto bigger and better things on the strength of his performance here.
Reb Brown : "WUAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
Aylmer12 June 2000
highly trained mercenaries + precise tactical mission + lots of explosions + Reb Brown!
no, Reb didn't exactly star in this film. In fact everyone's favorite beefy slab of machine-gun toting girlie-screaming mayhem has a pretty minor role in this one. Gene Hackman gives possibly his best performance as a disgruntled father of an MIA who leads a bunch of 'nam vets back to 'nam on an unsanctioned, privately-funded mission... by Robert "maybe you can solve a mystery" Stack no less!
This film has an outrageously fun concept, and it's also done remarkably well with half the film spent with the guys practicing their mission in an elaborate training-ground, and the second half with them pumping round after round into gook soldier. Sure the premise proved popular enough to inspire several later films like COBRA MISSION, MISSING IN ACTION, and RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2 (Director Kotcheff directed FIRST BLOOD)... but it's just so fun in an escapist, outlandish, Swiss-Family-Robinson sort of way you just have to love it. On the plus side, Uncommon Valor also features a wealth of your favorite B-actors, like Fred Ward (Tremors 1 and 2), Randall Cobb (Golden Child), Patrick Swayze (Steel Dawn), and the aforementioned Reb Brown (Robowar, Strike Commando, Yor, etc.).
Any film with Reb Brown happily chanting "bouncin' betty blows their balls off!" can't be that bad... it's just hilarious to see him so caught up in his role that his dialog becomes unintelligable later in the film amidst all his screaming and yelling.
One of Kotcheff's better films, certainly a step up from FIRST BLOOD... would've benefitted from a better musical score (since there really isn't much of one to speak of).
no, Reb didn't exactly star in this film. In fact everyone's favorite beefy slab of machine-gun toting girlie-screaming mayhem has a pretty minor role in this one. Gene Hackman gives possibly his best performance as a disgruntled father of an MIA who leads a bunch of 'nam vets back to 'nam on an unsanctioned, privately-funded mission... by Robert "maybe you can solve a mystery" Stack no less!
This film has an outrageously fun concept, and it's also done remarkably well with half the film spent with the guys practicing their mission in an elaborate training-ground, and the second half with them pumping round after round into gook soldier. Sure the premise proved popular enough to inspire several later films like COBRA MISSION, MISSING IN ACTION, and RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2 (Director Kotcheff directed FIRST BLOOD)... but it's just so fun in an escapist, outlandish, Swiss-Family-Robinson sort of way you just have to love it. On the plus side, Uncommon Valor also features a wealth of your favorite B-actors, like Fred Ward (Tremors 1 and 2), Randall Cobb (Golden Child), Patrick Swayze (Steel Dawn), and the aforementioned Reb Brown (Robowar, Strike Commando, Yor, etc.).
Any film with Reb Brown happily chanting "bouncin' betty blows their balls off!" can't be that bad... it's just hilarious to see him so caught up in his role that his dialog becomes unintelligable later in the film amidst all his screaming and yelling.
One of Kotcheff's better films, certainly a step up from FIRST BLOOD... would've benefitted from a better musical score (since there really isn't much of one to speak of).
I talk to polar bears......
FlashCallahan21 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A Marine Colonel was dismissed because he wouldn't give up on his son who's MIA in Vietnam.
Nearly 10 years later, he obtains evidence of where he might be. So with financial backing from the father of another P.O.W. he recruits the men who served with his son.
With photos he obtained, he makes a replica of the camp, and they work out a rescue operation. When the government tries to stop them, their weapons are confiscated. So they have to find other weapons......
Hilarious from beginning to end, for all the wrong reasons, Uncommon Valor beat Rambo 2 by nearly two years for being one of the most overblown pieces of propaganda bigging up the vets in the eighties.
The first act and a half are pure filler, Hackman getting angry, sad, and other emotions, before recruiting his rag tag team of people with wonderful names.
But the real reason to watch this is because the moment we see the most fake looking bones ever committed to celluloid,the film goes bonkers, and it's really worth seeing for the last half an hour.
It might have been myself, but it appears that Hackman spouts only one line from this part of the film, Swayze gets really, I mean really, emotional when he kills someone, or sees someone die, the camera literally stays on him for the best part of ten seconds each time to show his sadness.
But when Tim Thomerson survives a helicopter explosion, he loses it, runs really fast to the river, and stops.
Randall 'Tex' Cobb is the comedy value here, and when he realises it, he uses his necklace to help his friends.
No prizes for guessing how a character called Blaster buys it, and all the POW's look like Klaus Kinski.
It's not a bad film by any means, it's just daft propaganda, telling the USA that it was okay that we didn't win, because Gene Hackman can still get out there and kick butt.
Nearly 10 years later, he obtains evidence of where he might be. So with financial backing from the father of another P.O.W. he recruits the men who served with his son.
With photos he obtained, he makes a replica of the camp, and they work out a rescue operation. When the government tries to stop them, their weapons are confiscated. So they have to find other weapons......
Hilarious from beginning to end, for all the wrong reasons, Uncommon Valor beat Rambo 2 by nearly two years for being one of the most overblown pieces of propaganda bigging up the vets in the eighties.
The first act and a half are pure filler, Hackman getting angry, sad, and other emotions, before recruiting his rag tag team of people with wonderful names.
But the real reason to watch this is because the moment we see the most fake looking bones ever committed to celluloid,the film goes bonkers, and it's really worth seeing for the last half an hour.
It might have been myself, but it appears that Hackman spouts only one line from this part of the film, Swayze gets really, I mean really, emotional when he kills someone, or sees someone die, the camera literally stays on him for the best part of ten seconds each time to show his sadness.
But when Tim Thomerson survives a helicopter explosion, he loses it, runs really fast to the river, and stops.
Randall 'Tex' Cobb is the comedy value here, and when he realises it, he uses his necklace to help his friends.
No prizes for guessing how a character called Blaster buys it, and all the POW's look like Klaus Kinski.
It's not a bad film by any means, it's just daft propaganda, telling the USA that it was okay that we didn't win, because Gene Hackman can still get out there and kick butt.
Cheesy as hell, but not bad
Mr-Fusion19 January 2016
American forces going back into Vietnam to settle a score, now there's a well-worn premise for an '80s movie. But in all fairness, Gene Hackman blazed that trail for Norris and Stallone. "Uncommon Valor" is as manly as they come, wielding a righteous cause and a well of brute testosterone. And for a great deal of the running time, it's a by-the-numbers war movie. I have to admit, that's not really my thing, so I started drifting after awhile.
It's a good cast, but Hackman deserves high praise for his sympathetic performance. The damn thing opens with him stalking the streets of Bangkok in hopeless search of his POW son. Washington's no help and his desperation is palpable. The stake are a lot more real when he's around.
6/10 Stray thought: what is with the milquetoast pop songs that end these '80s 'Nam movies?
It's a good cast, but Hackman deserves high praise for his sympathetic performance. The damn thing opens with him stalking the streets of Bangkok in hopeless search of his POW son. Washington's no help and his desperation is palpable. The stake are a lot more real when he's around.
6/10 Stray thought: what is with the milquetoast pop songs that end these '80s 'Nam movies?
A Winner...It Caught Me By Surprise
SquirePM16 August 2000
This movie is not the "true Vietnam" experience. For that, see only 2 films: Apocalypse Now and Hamburger Hill. All the rest are baloney, or worse. (OK, it's now 2008 and I'm editing this to include We Were Soldiers as another great Vietnam movie. It captivated me utterly and took me back, as did Apocalypse Now. When it was over I was unable to move from my seat until after the cleaning crew had finished.)
Uncommon Valor, however, is still a great Vietnam movie for all to see. It's uneven as hell, so you have to be flexible. I suggest you have fun with the goofball stuff, appreciate the combat bonding stuff, gloss over the obligatory linkage stuff. Watch closely as each Vietnam veteran is recruited and introduced, and learn. Then enjoy what you will of the characters and the actors who bring them to life. (I mostly loved them.)
I was an Infantryman in Vietnam. This movie is the only Vietnam movie, the only one, that ever brought tears to my eyes. I was amazed at the power of its ending. It was overwhelming to me.
When it comes right down to it, take this movie seriously.
Uncommon Valor, however, is still a great Vietnam movie for all to see. It's uneven as hell, so you have to be flexible. I suggest you have fun with the goofball stuff, appreciate the combat bonding stuff, gloss over the obligatory linkage stuff. Watch closely as each Vietnam veteran is recruited and introduced, and learn. Then enjoy what you will of the characters and the actors who bring them to life. (I mostly loved them.)
I was an Infantryman in Vietnam. This movie is the only Vietnam movie, the only one, that ever brought tears to my eyes. I was amazed at the power of its ending. It was overwhelming to me.
When it comes right down to it, take this movie seriously.
Bring Them All Back This Time
bkoganbing23 January 2010
Uncommon Valor stars Gene Hackman as a retired US Army Colonel who still wants an accounting of his son who was listed as Missing In Action when the Vietnam War ended in 1973. Rumors on rumors pile up as to whether we still have men kept as prisoners of war from the late conflict in Southeast Asia. Hackman thinks he has a lead and he goes to multi-millionaire Robert Stack who also has an MIA son with a plan of action that involves leading some veterans as a volunteer mercenary force to get their comrades out.
I'll say the same thing I said about Rambo II which touched on the same subject. Does it make any kind of rational sense that the Vietnamese or in this case the men are being held in Laos would keep prisoners of war after the conflict has ended? My guess is, sad to say that prisoners that we could not account for being held by the enemy at the conclusion of the war would probably have been just simply murdered.
But the idea that we could go back and win one in the extra innings of war certainly had appeal which accounts for the popularity of Uncommon Valor and Rambo II. At least Gene Hackman was not going to do it singlehanded the way Sly Stallone did.
Bearing all that in mind, Uncommon Valor is a nice action war film if taken on its own terms. The men that Hackman selects, all veterans from the conflict, Randall Cobb, Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, Reb Brown, and Harold Sylvester are all professionals. The film never goes down to the rollicking and somewhat dopey hijinks of the A-Team. They have one youngster on the mission, a young Patrick Swayze on the cusp of stardom. He's there to rescue his father if possible.
The cast has a nice chemical camaraderie to it. Uncommon Valor is a decent enough action film, not to be taken too terribly serious.
I'll say the same thing I said about Rambo II which touched on the same subject. Does it make any kind of rational sense that the Vietnamese or in this case the men are being held in Laos would keep prisoners of war after the conflict has ended? My guess is, sad to say that prisoners that we could not account for being held by the enemy at the conclusion of the war would probably have been just simply murdered.
But the idea that we could go back and win one in the extra innings of war certainly had appeal which accounts for the popularity of Uncommon Valor and Rambo II. At least Gene Hackman was not going to do it singlehanded the way Sly Stallone did.
Bearing all that in mind, Uncommon Valor is a nice action war film if taken on its own terms. The men that Hackman selects, all veterans from the conflict, Randall Cobb, Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, Reb Brown, and Harold Sylvester are all professionals. The film never goes down to the rollicking and somewhat dopey hijinks of the A-Team. They have one youngster on the mission, a young Patrick Swayze on the cusp of stardom. He's there to rescue his father if possible.
The cast has a nice chemical camaraderie to it. Uncommon Valor is a decent enough action film, not to be taken too terribly serious.
Pretty Common
truemythmedia29 April 2019
Recently, I took a vacation with my family to Hawaii, and whilst we were there, we stumbled upon some rice paddies that had been used in the filming of "Uncommon Valor", a film that, up until then, I had never heard about. Always the cinephile, I immediately jumped on IMDb and did a bit of research. At first glance, the film didn't look great. It had received mostly negative reviews, but I was familiar with the director Ted Kotcheff ("First Blood", "Wake in Fright") so I figured it couldn't be all bad. Well, now I've watched it, and I can confirm it's pretty bad. It's not terrible. There are a few scenes that I could point to and say, "This is the reason Gene Hackman chose to do this script," but there are enough moments that I wondered if something had gone wrong during production. One of the things that stuck out to me first was the bland cinematography and disjointed editing. There are so many scenes that are shot full bodied, with the camera just pointed vaguely in the direction of the action. Those kinds of shots don't say anything about the characters or their motivations, nor does it make the film any more interesting. The editing was so jumbled that sometimes the viewer had to piece together what happened in order for the scene to make any sense. There were also quite a few issues with art department. Perhaps the most notable issue was when Gene Hackman and company wander through a village that has been hit with mustard gas. When Hackman and his coterie file through this village, there are dozens of bleached white bones scattered across the ground instead of mutilated corpses. There's also a scene were soldiers are training in full gear, and then in the next shot, all of the soldiers are wearing all of their gear except their army boots; instead of boots they wear tennis shoes. I suspect that the costume department probably forgot their boots that day, Kotcheff just decided to shoot anyways. There were a few moments that seemed glimmers of hope in an otherwise dismal and dreary world, but would I recommend it? Heavens no. This film has largely been forgotten, as well it should. There are plenty of better Vietnam movies out there, and plenty of them that follow a similar storyline. Unless you've an undying love for Swayze or Hackman, you can skip this one.
For our full review of Uncommon Valor
One of the best Vietnam flicks
dgl11996 March 2006
Nothing sticks out more than the opening sequence: The chopper extraction, all those men left behind. The view from the chopper as the handful left behind are captured. That has to be one of the most memorable scenes of any film I've seen.
I think this movie is terrific. A band of Vietnam vets organized and trained to rescue the POW's our government left behind. It's not a perfect film, in places it's just horribly directed. But the chemistry of these brothers in arms works well. The film is as humanistic as much as it is an action flick. The topicality is rooted in an emotionally charged, contemporary issue which still resonates to this day. What happened to all those MIAs? Why has the US government refused to find them? Well, the film isn't really about answering those difficult questions. But it also doesn't let you forget them, either.
There is nothing revolutionary here. This topic has been handled before by less than memorable flicks like Rambo, and Missing in Action. This is much better written and acted. Gene Hackman makes the film what it is; human. You can imagine this rescue mission as a dream come true for every father who received that MIA telegram from that military. But, for me, there are some very moving moments that just stick with you. "it's really good to see you." stutters one of the POWs on the chopper. You know, every time I see that shot, I get a little misty. Because I think he speaks for every man who finally made it back from that hell on earth we call the Vietnam War.
I think this movie is terrific. A band of Vietnam vets organized and trained to rescue the POW's our government left behind. It's not a perfect film, in places it's just horribly directed. But the chemistry of these brothers in arms works well. The film is as humanistic as much as it is an action flick. The topicality is rooted in an emotionally charged, contemporary issue which still resonates to this day. What happened to all those MIAs? Why has the US government refused to find them? Well, the film isn't really about answering those difficult questions. But it also doesn't let you forget them, either.
There is nothing revolutionary here. This topic has been handled before by less than memorable flicks like Rambo, and Missing in Action. This is much better written and acted. Gene Hackman makes the film what it is; human. You can imagine this rescue mission as a dream come true for every father who received that MIA telegram from that military. But, for me, there are some very moving moments that just stick with you. "it's really good to see you." stutters one of the POWs on the chopper. You know, every time I see that shot, I get a little misty. Because I think he speaks for every man who finally made it back from that hell on earth we call the Vietnam War.
The "Magnificent Seven" blows up Laos ........
merklekranz21 August 2019
Take the Western "The Magnificent Seven" and put them in Army uniforms. Next spend almost half the film with training for the mission, along with the requisite buddy bonding. Now key the explosions and send them on their way to rescue American P.O.W.s being held in a jungle prison camp. "Uncommon Valor" follows the tried and true formula of any successful action film. Exciting, totally unrealistic, plenty of explosions, with the "good guys" succeeding despite the overwhelming odds. Gene Hackman and his band of Vietnam Vets. will definitely offer a good dose of Patriotism, but don't expect logic to prevail, or for that matter realism. It is what it is, and that is probably enough to entertain an undemanding audience. - MERK
hmm yet another let's go get the MIA's out from Vietnam
pietsch_se24 January 2003
But to be a little more precise I do not think that it is as bad as it actually could be. Eventhough the actors (famous to semi-famous) didn't do a very great job. Directors fault? Could be the script as well hard for me to say? Anyway, if you are after a lot of cool guns and action this is not the movie for you but they do run around with a lot of ww2 vintage guns. Sort of fun :) Well I guess I could say more but it just doesn't feel as if it's worth it. If you are desperate enough or a Hackman freak see it otherwise don't!
Live well and prosper
Live well and prosper
Did this film provide the inspiration for Rambo: First Blood, Part II?
barnabyrudge21 October 2003
Gene Hackman is always a pleasure to watch, and he lifts this implausible POW-rescue escapade with a mature and convincing portrayal of a father strugglingto come to terms with the fact that his son was listed missing-in-action during the Vietnam War. The whole cast is quite impressive actually, consisting of old pros (Hackman and Robert Stack), future stars (Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward) and familiar bit players (Tim Thomerson, Harold Sylvester, Randall Tex Cobb, Reb Brown).
Hackman plays a retired army officer - a veteran of the Korean War - who desperately seeks closure on the matter of his son's disappearance in Vietnam. In the early '80s, he receives photographic evidence that American POWs are still being held in the south-east Asian country of Laos. In fact, one of the prisoners on the photo looks like his son. He assembles a team of ex-Vietnam vets, trains them for a return to combat, and heads off with them to Laos on a clandestine rescue mission.
This film seems to have been the starting point for Chuck Norris's 1984 offering Missing In Action, and Sylvester Stallone's 1985 hit Rambo, First Blood Part II. However, Uncommon Valor is much better than both of those overblown comic-strip follies. Although the action in this movie takes liberties with credibility, the character development is at least quite decent and the mental impact of fighting and losing friends in a war is explored. The cast give good performances (Swayze in particular, still a relative unknown here, gives the best performance of his career to this day). Ted Kotcheff directs well, conveying disparate moods - angst, humour, horror, excitement - very nicely in a variety of scenes.
Uncommon Valor is hard to swallow in terms of believability, but it is a well-made, well-acted and entertaining jungle rescue film.
Hackman plays a retired army officer - a veteran of the Korean War - who desperately seeks closure on the matter of his son's disappearance in Vietnam. In the early '80s, he receives photographic evidence that American POWs are still being held in the south-east Asian country of Laos. In fact, one of the prisoners on the photo looks like his son. He assembles a team of ex-Vietnam vets, trains them for a return to combat, and heads off with them to Laos on a clandestine rescue mission.
This film seems to have been the starting point for Chuck Norris's 1984 offering Missing In Action, and Sylvester Stallone's 1985 hit Rambo, First Blood Part II. However, Uncommon Valor is much better than both of those overblown comic-strip follies. Although the action in this movie takes liberties with credibility, the character development is at least quite decent and the mental impact of fighting and losing friends in a war is explored. The cast give good performances (Swayze in particular, still a relative unknown here, gives the best performance of his career to this day). Ted Kotcheff directs well, conveying disparate moods - angst, humour, horror, excitement - very nicely in a variety of scenes.
Uncommon Valor is hard to swallow in terms of believability, but it is a well-made, well-acted and entertaining jungle rescue film.
Rousing, angry, and underrated men-on-a-mission film
Sevenmercury729 March 2018
A rousing men-on-a-mission action-adventure with an angry political message, this covers the same ground as Rambo 2 and is almost as entertaining. The great Gene Hackman plays Colonel Rhodes, a father haunted by his son's disappearance behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. For years he tries, and fails, to convince the US government to help him find Frank. In a last-ditch attempt, he recruits several of Frank's comrades-in-arms, who each, in his own way, has unfinished business with the war, to join him on a daring rescue mission.
What follows is a by-the-numbers but stirring action film, with an extremely likeable cast including Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, and a young Patrick Swayze. James Horner provides another of his brilliant 80's action scores, by turns haunting and pulse-quickening. The set-up and training sequences are rock solid and fun, and the final rescue mission is downright exciting. I liked it better than The Dirty Dozen, which had way too much comedy for me to take it seriously. Uncommon Valor strikes a much better balance between popcorn heroics and its more sobering themes, both human and political. It's an underrated film, one I never tire of watching.
What follows is a by-the-numbers but stirring action film, with an extremely likeable cast including Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, and a young Patrick Swayze. James Horner provides another of his brilliant 80's action scores, by turns haunting and pulse-quickening. The set-up and training sequences are rock solid and fun, and the final rescue mission is downright exciting. I liked it better than The Dirty Dozen, which had way too much comedy for me to take it seriously. Uncommon Valor strikes a much better balance between popcorn heroics and its more sobering themes, both human and political. It's an underrated film, one I never tire of watching.
The original POW movie!
ShelbyTMItchell7 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Chuck Norris and Sly Stallone really has nothing on Gene Hackman & Company as Hackman can act, first of all. Despite liking Norris and Stallone. But, Hackman knows how to act! He plays Colonel Rhodes, a career military man as his only son, is a POW in Vietnam. Despite the government and everybody else saying to him that he needs to give up. Still, any and all hindrances won't deter him. As he rounds up a group of men from his son's team in the Vietnam War. That have gone onto other things, meaning other jobs, in hopes of saving his son and others left by the war as POWs. And with financial backing from a billionaire, played by Robert Stack, also having a son that is a POW. As the camp is built like a POW camp in order to prepare them for the worse. There, they meet young rookie, Marine reject Patrick Swayze. The first part deals with their training, as the other five vets that aren't sure about Swayze and after not taking lightly being bossed by a rookie young Marine. They mutiny and Sailor, who steals the movie played brilliantly by, Randall "Tex" Cobb teaches the rookie a lesson in a fistfight. As it is revealed by Rhodes, he has a father that's MIA, shot down in Vietnam. There the young Marine is taken in by the vets and also learns to work as a team member, rather than a leader. He learns that he needed to be a team member, not a team leader all along. Second, despite a few obstacles and more government bureaucracy, Hackman's character and the now organized six men, won't stop until they rescue the POWs. Won't give away how they do it or the end, but it is pretty bittersweet. But all in all, it goes to show us, that we shouldn't leave out the POWs. Don't know why Cobb could had been a bigger name and given bigger roles after this. I admit the Swayze character was kind of jerk but then, mellowed out a bit. As well as started to learn to, become a team player. But it is Hackman's movie as he is brilliant in this. As well as the other supporting players. That build support around him.
Uncommon Valour
allmoviesfan7 April 2023
Gene Hackman plays Colonel Jason Rhodes, a Korean War veteran whose son was captured and is still MIA in Laos. Rhodes organises an off-the-books mission to liberate the POW camp where his son is being held.
This reminded me of Rambo II and the Missing in Action trilogy, but a much more considered and realistic - as far as these sorts of Vietnam War POW rescue movies go, anyway - with Hackman a more convincing military man than either Stallone or Norris, wanting to bring his son back home.
Patrick Swayze, a relative newcomer in 1983, has a role as part of the force that Hackman's Rhodes puts together.
A decent movie, the vanguard of so many "Rescue American POWs from Vietnam" movies to come.
This reminded me of Rambo II and the Missing in Action trilogy, but a much more considered and realistic - as far as these sorts of Vietnam War POW rescue movies go, anyway - with Hackman a more convincing military man than either Stallone or Norris, wanting to bring his son back home.
Patrick Swayze, a relative newcomer in 1983, has a role as part of the force that Hackman's Rhodes puts together.
A decent movie, the vanguard of so many "Rescue American POWs from Vietnam" movies to come.
Uncommon mission
jordondave-280851 June 2023
(1983) Uncommon Valor
WAR
First film I know that dealt with P. O. W.'s still trapped in Vietnam camps, and are pronounced "Missing In Action" since the bureaucracy does not see any advantage into bringing their POW's back home to the U. S. Fictional, but somewhat well handled looking at it from different viewpoints, starring Gene Hackman as Col. Cal Rhodes gathering the same group of Vietnam vets who were the last people to see his son still alive. A nice standout character was also a nice touch played by Patrick Swayze. If it wasn't for Gene Hackman's acting, this film would've bee a total dud. Directed by Ted Kotcheff who also directed "First Blood" and was made way before Chuck Norris's "Missing In Action" movies.
First film I know that dealt with P. O. W.'s still trapped in Vietnam camps, and are pronounced "Missing In Action" since the bureaucracy does not see any advantage into bringing their POW's back home to the U. S. Fictional, but somewhat well handled looking at it from different viewpoints, starring Gene Hackman as Col. Cal Rhodes gathering the same group of Vietnam vets who were the last people to see his son still alive. A nice standout character was also a nice touch played by Patrick Swayze. If it wasn't for Gene Hackman's acting, this film would've bee a total dud. Directed by Ted Kotcheff who also directed "First Blood" and was made way before Chuck Norris's "Missing In Action" movies.
The best underrated Vietnam flick and the best early work from my favorite young Patrick Swayze his best film
ivo-cobra89 October 2016
Uncommon Valor (1983) is a underrated Vietnam war flick that I have grown up with it, it is one of the best classic Vietnam films from Patrick Swayze, alongside with Gene Hackman! I really love this film to death. I grew up watching this movie it was all time my favorite war film. This movie was made before Missing in Action and Rambo: First Blood Part II was released. This film shows a great courage and heroism to US soldiers who served in Vietnam who were missing in action and were held captive in Vietnam camps. This movie is about a U.S. Marine officer who puts together a team of Vietnam vets who served in Vietnam and he try's to rescue his son, who he believes is among those still held in Laos after the Vietnam War. Directed by Ted Kotcheff who previously directed First Blood (1982). I used to had this movie on VHS but I don't have it anymore and I can't get the Blu-ray because it is not released yet. This is my first number 1 Patrick Swayze movie he ever made. It is his best work from the 80's, even tough he had a small role. I really had a blast and fun watching him in this movie, playing a Marine Kevin Scott.
"Boy, you just bought the whole can of whup-ass!" "Boy, you usin' that oriental martial bulls**t on me's gonna get real expensive."
Plot: Ten years after his son went MIA in Vietnam, U.S.Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in POW camps in Laos.
What I love about this movie is: you have a solid excellent cast: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson and Robert Stack. This is a fantastic war movie, it has drama, action and humor. This film has it all and it done so well with it is heart sleeve. I don't understand why this movie is so underrated and forgotten, like no one mentions this movie today. This was Randall "Tex" Cobb's second film later he played another Vietnam vet in MacGyver (1985) Season 3 Episode 16 (1987), I love the fight scene between Sailor (Randall "Tex" Cobb) and Kevin Scott (Patrick Swayze), Swayze using his martial arts on Sailor was epic, fantastic. This is my favorite best scene in the film ever, and I love Sailor's dialogue I absolutely love everything about this movie!
You have a training sequences, you have a real mission with a real Viet Congs. You have a beautiful music theme song from James Horner which I love it and I love the song Brothers in the Night by Ray Kennedy. This film was filmed and released in the year 1983, that year when I was born. This film is the first and the best 'Vietnam rescue mission' movie. I have the film in my top list for a long time. Sad that out of the cast, the youngest, Patrick Sawyze, is the only one of the team who is dead in real life. Its a great movie, good script, well directed action and nicely rounded characters that live with you well after the movie is over.
I really love Patrick Swayze, who was US marine in this movie and he was kicked out of the unit for striking a radio operator who fall a sleep. I love Patrick's character Kevin Scott, I love Reb Brown in this movie as Blaster. But I love to death Randall "Tex" Cobb as Sailor, I love this character to death! I love Fred Ward as Wilkes, he was a Tunnel rat, he doesn't like close spaces, after the fight with Kevin and Sailor we found Kevin's story, why he want's to be In this mission, it is because his father was shot down in Vietnam and he is missing in action. I love how Patrick kills one of the Viet Congs, he saves on the end Charts (Tim Thomerson). He cared about Sailor when he was killed.
In this movie we also have Kwan Hi Lim from Magnum P.I. who played Lieutenant Yoshi Tanaka the actor is also dead from this movie who sadly passed away in 2008. This movie has beautiful acting, it is more smarter Vietnam war film. I think it is very underrated and unappreciated.
Again it is my favorite fourth Vietnam film, the first three will always be Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and we Were Soldiers. Uncommon Valor is my fourth favorite Vietnam War film.
R.I.P. - Patrick Swayze (1952 - 2009) I really miss you so much and I wish you could do more bad ass action movies, I am your biggest fan and so was my mom we all miss you and we all love you, I love you to death! Uncommon Valor (why doesn't THAT film get the cult/appreciation/notice of this POS), Steel Dawn (underrated), Road House and Black Dog are my top 4 favorite Patrick Swayze movies he ever did! This movie get's 10 out 10 the best underrated Vietnam movie ever made!
Uncommon Valor is a 1983 war film written by Joe Gayton and directed by Ted Kotcheff, about a U.S. Marine officer who puts together a team to try to rescue his son, who he believes is among those still held in Laos after the Vietnam War.
10/10 Score: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Paramount Pictures Starring: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson, Robert Stack, Kwan Hi Lim, Lau Nga Lai Director: Ted Kotcheff Producers: David Brown, Michael Tolkin, Nick Wechsler, Buzz Feitshans, John Milius Screenplay: Joe Gayton Story by Wings Hauser Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 45 Mins. Box Office: $30,503,151
"Boy, you just bought the whole can of whup-ass!" "Boy, you usin' that oriental martial bulls**t on me's gonna get real expensive."
Plot: Ten years after his son went MIA in Vietnam, U.S.Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in POW camps in Laos.
What I love about this movie is: you have a solid excellent cast: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson and Robert Stack. This is a fantastic war movie, it has drama, action and humor. This film has it all and it done so well with it is heart sleeve. I don't understand why this movie is so underrated and forgotten, like no one mentions this movie today. This was Randall "Tex" Cobb's second film later he played another Vietnam vet in MacGyver (1985) Season 3 Episode 16 (1987), I love the fight scene between Sailor (Randall "Tex" Cobb) and Kevin Scott (Patrick Swayze), Swayze using his martial arts on Sailor was epic, fantastic. This is my favorite best scene in the film ever, and I love Sailor's dialogue I absolutely love everything about this movie!
You have a training sequences, you have a real mission with a real Viet Congs. You have a beautiful music theme song from James Horner which I love it and I love the song Brothers in the Night by Ray Kennedy. This film was filmed and released in the year 1983, that year when I was born. This film is the first and the best 'Vietnam rescue mission' movie. I have the film in my top list for a long time. Sad that out of the cast, the youngest, Patrick Sawyze, is the only one of the team who is dead in real life. Its a great movie, good script, well directed action and nicely rounded characters that live with you well after the movie is over.
I really love Patrick Swayze, who was US marine in this movie and he was kicked out of the unit for striking a radio operator who fall a sleep. I love Patrick's character Kevin Scott, I love Reb Brown in this movie as Blaster. But I love to death Randall "Tex" Cobb as Sailor, I love this character to death! I love Fred Ward as Wilkes, he was a Tunnel rat, he doesn't like close spaces, after the fight with Kevin and Sailor we found Kevin's story, why he want's to be In this mission, it is because his father was shot down in Vietnam and he is missing in action. I love how Patrick kills one of the Viet Congs, he saves on the end Charts (Tim Thomerson). He cared about Sailor when he was killed.
In this movie we also have Kwan Hi Lim from Magnum P.I. who played Lieutenant Yoshi Tanaka the actor is also dead from this movie who sadly passed away in 2008. This movie has beautiful acting, it is more smarter Vietnam war film. I think it is very underrated and unappreciated.
Again it is my favorite fourth Vietnam film, the first three will always be Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and we Were Soldiers. Uncommon Valor is my fourth favorite Vietnam War film.
R.I.P. - Patrick Swayze (1952 - 2009) I really miss you so much and I wish you could do more bad ass action movies, I am your biggest fan and so was my mom we all miss you and we all love you, I love you to death! Uncommon Valor (why doesn't THAT film get the cult/appreciation/notice of this POS), Steel Dawn (underrated), Road House and Black Dog are my top 4 favorite Patrick Swayze movies he ever did! This movie get's 10 out 10 the best underrated Vietnam movie ever made!
Uncommon Valor is a 1983 war film written by Joe Gayton and directed by Ted Kotcheff, about a U.S. Marine officer who puts together a team to try to rescue his son, who he believes is among those still held in Laos after the Vietnam War.
10/10 Score: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Paramount Pictures Starring: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson, Robert Stack, Kwan Hi Lim, Lau Nga Lai Director: Ted Kotcheff Producers: David Brown, Michael Tolkin, Nick Wechsler, Buzz Feitshans, John Milius Screenplay: Joe Gayton Story by Wings Hauser Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 45 Mins. Box Office: $30,503,151
Makes the Grade
view_and_review31 July 2020
It's 1983, towards the beginning of a decade that would feature many Vietnam War movies, and "Uncommon Valor" has added its name to the list. Very little of the movie features the Vietnam War itself as it shifts focus to a POW rescue operation.
I liked the plot and flow of the movie because it took its time. Col. Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman) had a son who never returned from the Vietnam War. After 10 years and several various attempts to locate his son, Cal finally got some credible information on his son's whereabouts. Going the diplomatic route was a no-go being that he'd tried that many times over. He would have to rescue his son himself. He would only need the funds and the manpower to successfully retrieve his son. The funds came from another man whose son was MIA, and the manpower came in the form of Vietnam vets: Wilkes (Fred Ward), Blaster (Reb Brown), Sailor (Randall 'Tex' Cobb), Johnson (Harold Sylvester), and Charts (Tim Thomerson), who still had something left in the tank. Rhodes picked up Scott (Patrick Swayze) and some local Laotians for extra help.
This movie reminded me of "The Dirty Dozen." The men on the mission were all interesting characters and they rehearsed ad nauseum in order to make sure they succeeded once they went to Laos where the POW camp was. The combination of the likeable characters and the nice plot made "Uncommon Valor" uncommonly good.
I liked the plot and flow of the movie because it took its time. Col. Cal Rhodes (Gene Hackman) had a son who never returned from the Vietnam War. After 10 years and several various attempts to locate his son, Cal finally got some credible information on his son's whereabouts. Going the diplomatic route was a no-go being that he'd tried that many times over. He would have to rescue his son himself. He would only need the funds and the manpower to successfully retrieve his son. The funds came from another man whose son was MIA, and the manpower came in the form of Vietnam vets: Wilkes (Fred Ward), Blaster (Reb Brown), Sailor (Randall 'Tex' Cobb), Johnson (Harold Sylvester), and Charts (Tim Thomerson), who still had something left in the tank. Rhodes picked up Scott (Patrick Swayze) and some local Laotians for extra help.
This movie reminded me of "The Dirty Dozen." The men on the mission were all interesting characters and they rehearsed ad nauseum in order to make sure they succeeded once they went to Laos where the POW camp was. The combination of the likeable characters and the nice plot made "Uncommon Valor" uncommonly good.
Valor Uncommon, Film Routine.
rmax30482318 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Gene Hackman is a former Marine Corps colonel who musters a handful of private Vietnam vets to go back to Laos and rescue some Americans who have been listed as missing in action. Hackman suspects that, in actuality, the half-dozen or so MIAs are secretly being held in a remote camp by Laotians to be tormented and to provide more hard labor. Hackman is being paid by the wealthy Robert Stack, whose son, like Hackman's son, is thought to be among the MIAs. But the circumstances are such that Hackman can only manage to buy old and out-dated weapons, though he manages to pick up the help of a fervid anti-communist Loatian and his two daughters along the way.
I don't think the movie was deliberately concocted to endorse the myth of the Vietnames still holding our MIAs for propaganda purposes. The myth was real enough. If anyone remembers, there were many bumper stickers in 1982 and 1983, BRING BACK THE MIAs. I think, instead, that the film was made partly in order to cash in on the myth. It was absurd on the face of it. Why would our former enemy refuse to return MIAs? Propaganda? Where is the propaganda value in something that's kept secret? To add the labor supply? They need a hundred extra laborers in Vietnam and Laos? The motives behind this movie -- with its triumphant music and high body count -- were scurrilous.
But how about the movie itself? Stripped of its theme of rescuing mythical mistreated MIAs, it's a routine paramilitary actioner, no better and no worse than dozens of others that appeared in the 1980s. Gene Hackman's performance is the only one that manages to keep its head above water. He's just about always reliable.
Of the others, this being a formulaic plot, derived from "The Dirty Dozen" among others, I kept trying to guess which of the gang would sacrifice themselves for the mission. Of the three anti-communist Asians, I figured one or more were dead meat. That's why Asian helpers appear in movies like this. (I was right two times out of three.) I also figured Patrick Swayzie as the rookie ex-officer, the youngest of the group, who'd never "earned the respect" of the others because he'd never seen combat, would also have to go in some heroic mode. Wrong. He becomes a hero, true, but survives intact. I thought there was a fifty-fifty chance that Hackman would have to go too, but he makes it out okay. The formula doesn't really stretch for originality either. Charles Bronson's claustrophobic POW escapee from "The Great Escape" is here in Fred Ward's ex tunnel rat, a claustrophobe who is forced to crawl through a drainage pipe with a snake inside it, so that he can do a recon on the Laotian POW camp.
The title, "Uncommon Valor," is from a tribute that Admiral Nimitz made to the men on Iwo Jima -- "Uncommon valor was common that day." Nimitz was certainly right about that. Whether or not the men who fought in Vietnam were all equally valorous is remote from the point. Anyone who saw combat or even came near it, putting their lives on the line for the guys in the line next to them, were heroic enough. This movie, and the way it exploits our bitterness about the Vietnam war, doesn't really do them justice.
I don't think the movie was deliberately concocted to endorse the myth of the Vietnames still holding our MIAs for propaganda purposes. The myth was real enough. If anyone remembers, there were many bumper stickers in 1982 and 1983, BRING BACK THE MIAs. I think, instead, that the film was made partly in order to cash in on the myth. It was absurd on the face of it. Why would our former enemy refuse to return MIAs? Propaganda? Where is the propaganda value in something that's kept secret? To add the labor supply? They need a hundred extra laborers in Vietnam and Laos? The motives behind this movie -- with its triumphant music and high body count -- were scurrilous.
But how about the movie itself? Stripped of its theme of rescuing mythical mistreated MIAs, it's a routine paramilitary actioner, no better and no worse than dozens of others that appeared in the 1980s. Gene Hackman's performance is the only one that manages to keep its head above water. He's just about always reliable.
Of the others, this being a formulaic plot, derived from "The Dirty Dozen" among others, I kept trying to guess which of the gang would sacrifice themselves for the mission. Of the three anti-communist Asians, I figured one or more were dead meat. That's why Asian helpers appear in movies like this. (I was right two times out of three.) I also figured Patrick Swayzie as the rookie ex-officer, the youngest of the group, who'd never "earned the respect" of the others because he'd never seen combat, would also have to go in some heroic mode. Wrong. He becomes a hero, true, but survives intact. I thought there was a fifty-fifty chance that Hackman would have to go too, but he makes it out okay. The formula doesn't really stretch for originality either. Charles Bronson's claustrophobic POW escapee from "The Great Escape" is here in Fred Ward's ex tunnel rat, a claustrophobe who is forced to crawl through a drainage pipe with a snake inside it, so that he can do a recon on the Laotian POW camp.
The title, "Uncommon Valor," is from a tribute that Admiral Nimitz made to the men on Iwo Jima -- "Uncommon valor was common that day." Nimitz was certainly right about that. Whether or not the men who fought in Vietnam were all equally valorous is remote from the point. Anyone who saw combat or even came near it, putting their lives on the line for the guys in the line next to them, were heroic enough. This movie, and the way it exploits our bitterness about the Vietnam war, doesn't really do them justice.
Held up by strong, believable performances
Bud_Sturguess22 January 2003
Gene Hackman plays Colonel Rhodes, a frustrated veteran who rounds up a gang of the roughest men he can find, all to lead an invasion of a Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp at which he believes his son is still held captive. Seemingly far-fetched plot isn't as overblown as one might think, while the cast gives great, solid, and most of all believable performances, including Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, and Randall "Tex" Cobb. Includes a high energy action-filled climax. Recommended for fans of gritty war-dramas. Besides, it's always interesting to see Tex Cobb doing a ballet improvisation.
Vietnam after-party...
Coventry12 November 2003
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS AHOY !!!
Uncommon Valor is a decent - you might even say good - war movie that in fact was one of the first films that portraits the pain and depression after Vietnam. The movie mostly sets in the same year as it was shot - 1983 - a good 10 years after the last troops returned from Vietnam. At the time of the story, there still are many P.O.W kept hidden in the jungle of Laos. One of them is Kol. Rhodes' son Frank. Rhodes ( Gene Hackman is a great role as always ) feels that his son is still alive and can't go on living with the thought that he's kept prisoner. Therefore he convinces and recruits a whole platoon of veterans to go back and release the M.I.A's. On one side, they're sponsored by the government because one big man there also has a missing son but on the other side they're being boycott because the government still is negociating with Laos to set the prisoners free without a battle.
Three quarters of the movie is filled with the training and recruiting of the veterans and it's pretty needless to say that involves a lot of sentiment, emotion and even some funny moments. In that point of view, Uncommon Valor isn't really innovating or memorable but it does contain an interesting character portrait of veterans in general. We see how one soldier is faced with his old phobia again ( Fred Ward, still a very underappreciated actor in my opinion ) and another one going crazy once again because he was addicted to painkillers back in Vietnam ( Randall "Tex" Cobb in a very well cast role ). Uncommon Valor also stars a young Patrick Swayze ( even before his Dirty Dancing role ) as the enthusiast young warrior who never fought in Vietnam but sure wants to help now in releasing the prisoners. The film is directed by Ted Kotcheff who knows his way around Vietnam stories...He was the one who also brought us the Rambo franchise.
Uncommon Valor doesn't belong to the top list of Vietnam war movies but it certainly is enjoyable and worth a watch. Good cast and especially the locations and settings leave an impression on you.
Uncommon Valor is a decent - you might even say good - war movie that in fact was one of the first films that portraits the pain and depression after Vietnam. The movie mostly sets in the same year as it was shot - 1983 - a good 10 years after the last troops returned from Vietnam. At the time of the story, there still are many P.O.W kept hidden in the jungle of Laos. One of them is Kol. Rhodes' son Frank. Rhodes ( Gene Hackman is a great role as always ) feels that his son is still alive and can't go on living with the thought that he's kept prisoner. Therefore he convinces and recruits a whole platoon of veterans to go back and release the M.I.A's. On one side, they're sponsored by the government because one big man there also has a missing son but on the other side they're being boycott because the government still is negociating with Laos to set the prisoners free without a battle.
Three quarters of the movie is filled with the training and recruiting of the veterans and it's pretty needless to say that involves a lot of sentiment, emotion and even some funny moments. In that point of view, Uncommon Valor isn't really innovating or memorable but it does contain an interesting character portrait of veterans in general. We see how one soldier is faced with his old phobia again ( Fred Ward, still a very underappreciated actor in my opinion ) and another one going crazy once again because he was addicted to painkillers back in Vietnam ( Randall "Tex" Cobb in a very well cast role ). Uncommon Valor also stars a young Patrick Swayze ( even before his Dirty Dancing role ) as the enthusiast young warrior who never fought in Vietnam but sure wants to help now in releasing the prisoners. The film is directed by Ted Kotcheff who knows his way around Vietnam stories...He was the one who also brought us the Rambo franchise.
Uncommon Valor doesn't belong to the top list of Vietnam war movies but it certainly is enjoyable and worth a watch. Good cast and especially the locations and settings leave an impression on you.
The Dirty Dozen it isn't!
m-arnall12 May 2007
It is sad to have to say that a film is truly awful and one tries to find ways around saying this. However, this is a dreadful film. Gene Hackman wastes time (and one suspects, many dollars) on re-playing his most famous, and oft recreated, role as "Gene Hackman". Otherwise, television actors are given the chance to become film stars, and successfully, resist the temptation. Patrick Swayze has a minor part and went on to greater things, for which he must be eternally thankful.
I watched this film, as a result of someone else's review and I felt that another point of view was merited. You may not agree with my review but now, at least, you have been warned.
I watched this film, as a result of someone else's review and I felt that another point of view was merited. You may not agree with my review but now, at least, you have been warned.
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