Uncommon Valor

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Ron S Mar 14, 2019 In this action-adventure set after the Vietnam war, retired Army colonel Rhodes still believes that his son, who disappeared in Laos a decade before, is still being held as a POW. Rhodes enlists the financial aide of a patriotic oil tycoon and gathers a motley crew of Vietnam vets. After intensive training, they return to the jungles to find the missing son. Gene Hackman is great and so are his "motley crew,"a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos. I have always liked this film . The basic idea of Uncommon Valor is so interesting routine formula. Cliched, but thoroughly enjoyable post-Vietnam war movie. See more

Rey W Apr 28, 2018 Gene Hackman is the highlight. Gene Hackman stars in the mostly forgotten Vietnam prisoner of war breakout 1980's flick Uncommon Valor. It is poorly directed by Ted Kotcheff. Uncommon Valor is filled with cheesy '80's tropes and campy dialogue. The effects look obviously fake to great real explosions. The thin plot has been done before and much better. Uncommon Valor wishes to reach the heights of Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, or The Great Escape, while it has more in common with Rambo. Even though Tropic Thunder parodied Uncommon Valor's opening and finale, the comedy version has more heart and skillful execution than the original. It's a farce attempting to be serious, but it failed to build dramatic tension. The main stars here are Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, and a young Patrick Swayze who all shine as the emotional heart of the film. Aside from these stand out performances, the rest of the cast is atrocious. Unbelievable acting to over-exaggerated delivery leaves you wishing there was a better ensemble. Uncommon Valor features a slew of horrible acting, embarrassing dialogue, poor dubbing, and mediocre writing. The music is total cliche 1980's rock and hollowed out pop trash that is as dated as this movie's premise. The score is ill-fitted to the tone Uncommon Valor clearly sought. Dramatic moments lose all weight as cheesy music cuts through all emotion, while the lighthearted scenes feel silly juxtaposed to the serious subject matter of war veterans, PTSD, and the torture of prisoners of war. There is constant campy '80's rock guitar leads soaring high over several sequences that proceed to ridiculous results with the poorly suited score. Overall, I recommend Uncommon Valor if you really love war films and are accustomed to the hackneyed tropes and tone 1980's action movies were rife with usually. Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, and Patrick Swayze's performances are the only really enjoyable parts that still hold up. See more

Harry P Mar 9, 2018 It's a fun action movie from the 80s that is sadly in my opinion very underrated. I think that the performances are fine and it is a cult classic worth seeing. See more

Hermione R Feb 26, 2018 This is a pretty silly movie. The premise is good, let's go get our boys MIAs from Vietnam some 10 years later. It's kind of a half ass Dirty Dozen. It does have a lot of familiar actors (Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Patrick Swayze & Robert Stack). This movie only made me miss Gene Hackman and how good of an actor he was, so sad that he retired from acting almost 15 years ago. See more

Kylo P Aug 27, 2017 It's "Clichés" are hardly noticeable and wrongly masks how great the film is when it comes to most people. At it's core, the movie is quite an original emotional rollercoaster, being set after the war, with a great ensemble cast along for the ride. It can truly be a tear jerker, but is never sappy. To me, it is the most underated film in cinema history. See more

Abraham W Oct 27, 2012 A retired colonel spends years searching for his son, a MIA from the Vietnam War, and eventually assembles a team for a rescue mission to get him out of a prison camp in Laos. Not quite as good as Missing In Action but still worthwhile. See more

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Uncommon Valor

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