Strong and Moving!

Sick Product of a Sick System

hyped garbage

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Rescue Dawn is a great tale of a US soldier who is captured by Vietnamese forces after his flying mission fails and he somehow manages to land safety after surviving the crash. It is a great man vs nature film shot in the lush jungles of Thailand using some cool camera techniques. Christian Bale plays the main lead and he goes to such extremes to make the film- something not atypical of him- that you must commend him for it. Werner Herzog is the man behind the camera and this might be his most accessible feature film and as you know- anything with Herzog's name is worth a watch.

This isn't like other war movies so don't expect a Saving Private Ryan or even a Band of Brothers like drama. Rescue Dawn is one of the few mainstream efforts by legendary German auteur Wernor Herzog and you can see why- This isn't a war movie rather a survival film and it takes us dep into the jungle where the main character (portrayed impeccably by Christian Bale) has to fight himself, his urges and nature. A scene of him devouring a raw snake can make you squirm. A good film that should be given a chance. (Herzog goes mainstream).

How bad do you want to live? It's interesting. I see some of the negative reviews on here and I get it. I understand that everyone has an opinion. And the last time I checked, we all have the right to express that. And that' fine. But I dare say that most of the people who have given this film a negative review have more than likely never had to fight for anything in this world...especially their lives. Rescue Dawn is a movie about just that...the fight for life. And regardless of what some have said about it, it is a powerful and moving triumph about the will to survive. Christian Bale gives a performance worthy of award recognition (and unless I'm mistaken, he didn't receive much of that, if any at all, for this role). As does Steve Zahn. You can't help but become engrossed in their characters interactions with each other, and with the environment they find themselves in. I can't imagine a more difficult place to try and survive than Vietnam in the 1960s. And the obstacles they faced were as daunting as they were deadly. But, as is the case with so many who have faced life and death circumstances, they did not let it get the best of them. Even when Zahn's character makes a very abrupt and surprising exit from the film, Bale's Dieter Dengler did not let that stop him from finally finding the rescue that he had desperately been seeking for a good portion of the film. Which, in the long run, leads to a conclusion that is powerfully emotional. Indeed, it's one of the best endings I've ever seen in a film. And the fact that it is based on true events makes the movie all the more compelling. I cannot believe that it didn't receive more award recognition. Especially when there are so many films out there that do get nominated and it boggles the mind. If you are interested in stories that are real, and that are filmed in an almost documentary style that makes you feel as if you're right there in the middle of the action, then Rescue Dawn is a movie that you should not miss. And as is always the case when one reviews a film...that's just my opinion.

This movie was based on the true story of a US Navy fighter pilots struggle for survival after being shot down and captured during a mission over Laos during the Vietnam war. And considering the source material this should have been an excellent movie. Somehow though it seemed a bit cheesy at times and wound up feeling more like an episode of Locked Up Abroad, with the bad re-enactments.Steve Zahn does a great job as a fellow POW as does Jeremy Davies but Christian Bale is terrible, with the best part of his acting job being the weight loss. I also found the sound of his voice annoying particularly when he's yelling, weird I know. The ending is also too much, with the kidnapping back to the ship (Rescue Dawn) and all the rah, rah once aboard, like he's a rock star or something. So bad, I can't believe this part really happened. In all honestly I never got the feel of the 60's here either, maybe the 80's. Disappointing as a whole. 7/5/14