Review of Courage Under Fire (1996) by Simon W — 24 Dec 2010
Not great. Had really fond memories of this from when I was younger, and while it still isn't a bad movie, it very much is an Edward Zwick movie - and I don't like Edward Zwick movies. (Except for Legends of the Fall - but I have no good reason for that.).
His movies are always overly sentimental and heavily laden with moral sign posting - and this one is no exception. Denzel coming to terms with his mistake in the form of an easily pushed asside drinking problem once he faces the truth - which in the end turns out to be that he's even more awesome than we thought he was before ... so ... not as hard edged as we were previously led to believe: The ending showing off his ass kicking abilities dispite his mistake as the flag waving music grows even louder.
Lots of soft focus shots of Meg Ryan in the sunlight playing with her daughter who'll never see her again - bla, bla, bla. The melodrama comes thick and fast and doesn't let up with a real cringer in its final moments.
Still ... I do like this kind of movie. The puzzle solving mystery that slowly reveals itself come the end. Like A Few Good Men - and this one does the job pretty well on that front ... so it's not too bad.
This review of Courage Under Fire (1996) was written by Simon W on 24 Dec 2010.
Courage Under Fire has generally received positive reviews.
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