Review of Casualties of War (1989) by Cory A — 19 Apr 2009

Critics seem to unconditionally reward war films with a "based on fact" disclaimer, provided there is plenty of blood, internal conflict within the multi-ethnic American squadron, and a reaffirming conclusion that America is not all that bad. I was dissappointed with "Casualties of War.".

The horror-film technique has worked well with the war genre before, but it didn't do so here. De Palma's draw-out sequences that built so much amazing suspense in "Carrie" made "Casualties" almost comical. Swelling music and extreme close-ups failed to make my skin crawl or heart race. The horror-film approach perhaps was not horrific enough, because Sean Penn's evilness remained outside ourselves and di not call on us to question our own perversion. Fighting within the squadron was so obviously good versus evil that no character felt believable as human beings. They were either weak, animalistic, idiotic, or all three.

Michael J. Fox's tardy courage was forced. Yet for all his weakness and failure to act in time to save the damsel, he is the reaffirmation in America. Why? Because "Back to the Future II" was about to come out.

I wouldn't watch this again if you paid me.