Review of Courage Under Fire (1996) by Monty H — 16 Aug 2009

Exceptional drama that has two plots crossing over. The first one is the opening scene as American forces are battling the enemy in Kuwait under Operation Desert Storm. Tanks led by LT Colonel Nathaniel Serling (a riveting Denzel Washington) are engaging the enemy when a mistake leads to a friendly fire casualty. Serling's friend is killed in the accident and Serling himself is the one to blame. Flash forward a few years and Serling is requested by his superior to lead an inquiry into rescue pilot Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) who is to receive a posthumous Medal of Honor award. But as Serling begins his investigation, conflicting stories begin to cast doubt on the whole situation. This is really a strong and intriguing movie with top notch performances. Denzel is solid as usual. Lou Diamond Phillips is fiery as Sgt Monfriez, one of Walden's crew. Matt Damon is very good in an early role as her medic. And Meg Ryan herself shines in one of her few dramatic roles. She imbues Karen with heroic and strong values. She easily carries the role off and makes you realize she is a really good actress. We knew she could handle comedy, but she handles drama just fine also. There are also several explosive battle scenes that add to the movie, but doesn't over power it. The only regret is that Denzel and Meg have no scenes together since their stories take place at different points but still Courage Under Fire is an excellent movie. As a former soldier I can relate to all the jargon and customs and can say the film makers did it an awesome job. A wonderful music score is an added bonus.

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Nathaniel Serling: I think, uh... in order to honor a soldier like Karen Walden, we have to tell the truth, General, about what happened over there. The whole, hard... cold truth. And until we do that, uh, we dishonor her and every soldier who died, who gave their life for their country.

[Colonel Sterling gets up out of his chair, walks over to General Hershberg and throws his report on the desk].

Nathaniel Serling: My full report General.