Courage Under Fire (1996)

You won't be disappointed!

Charming and brutal

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Lt Col Serling (Denzel Washington) leads a squad of tanks in the first Gulf War. He accidentally destroys one of his own tanks in a friendly fire incident. Washington Post reporter Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn) is after the story. Serling is relegated to a desk job. He's assigned to determine if medical helicopter pilot Cpt Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan) should be the first woman to receive a Medal of Honor for combat. The White House is very eager. However, there is more than one version of the incident which resulted in her death.I love several things about this movie. Denzel is perfect as always. He needs to hold the center while having a compelling emotional story. Meg Ryan does the hardest acting of her career by bringing different versions of her character to life. Lou Diamond Phillips is great. Matt Damon is unrecognizable. It also has the Rashômon style of storytelling. I love that method. It feels more compelling than the straight forward way. It also feels more real with differing point of views.

Courage Under Fire (1996): Dir: Edward Zwick / Cast: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Scott Glenn, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon: War drama about being under pressure as the truth bears down. Set during the Gulf War and starring Denzel Washington who gives orders to fire upon a tank only to discover to his utter horror that it was American. Unable to forgive himself he seeks refuge through alcohol. He is eventually given an assignment to investigate the metal of honor that is to be given to the daughter of a female helicopter pilot who died in battle. Director Edward Zwick tenses the situation through flashbacks. He previous made such films as Glory and Legends of the Fall. Washington is well cast as a man hindered by guilt yet through this investigation he may find forgiveness and peace. Meg Ryan plays the female pilot unlike her normal romantic roles. We know that she dies in battle but does she earn the metal? Lou Diamond Phillips delivers a tense performance as a squadron who was on edge with Ryan and is driven further over the edge when questioning begins. Scott Glenn is cardboard as Washington's adviser. This is an early film for Matt Damon who will go on the following year to heavy acclaim. While the film is well crafted, viewers may be divided due to separate genres but theme regards living with someone's death. Score: 7 ½ / 10

Sorry, but I cannot stomach a movie that is pro-military when Meg Ryan, a devout Democrat and worshiper of John Kerry, the war-hater and devout liar, and Denzel Washington, a worshiper of President Obama and a devout Democrat who is said to be a devout Christian. One cannot be both...in 2011, the Democrats voted NO to have God inserted in their convention, in spite of the chairman's blatant lie; just one of 100 reasons.So, after my ranting, what about the movie? It is too hard to believe any of it because the actors are not sincere in true life. It would be like having an openly gay person portray Rudolph Valentino unless the movie was a comedy. Courage Under Fire does not pass as a comedy unless one forces one's mind to the point of insanity to see liberal war-hating actors and actresses pretend to be pro-military.

When this movie came out, we were just 5 years past Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq, and the 9/11/01 attack on the World Trade Center was 5 years in the future. I think that's important to remember when watching this movie, because it does refer to events in Iraq and things are very different now than they were then.Anyway: the plot of the movie is very simple. The pilot of a medic-evac helicopter that flew into a combat area to rescue the crew of another helicopter, one that had been downed by enemy fire, is killed during the rescue effort after also being downed by enemy fire.Because the pilot's actions saved the crews of both helicopters from attack by Iraqis until a rescue mission could be mounted, the pilot is being considered for posthumous award of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the military services for valorous action under combat conditions.The twist in this movie: the pilot being considered for the award is a woman, Captain Karen Walden (played by Meg Ryan), which would make her the first female combat veteran so honored.Denzel Washington plays the role of Lt. Colonel Nat Serling, himself a Desert Storm veteran, who has been tasked by his commanding officer, General Hershberg (Michael Moriarity) with investigation of the circumstances surrounding Captain Walden's death to determine whether her actions qualify her for the honor of receiving the Medal of Honor.Much is made of the fact that it would be a wonderful public-relations thing if Captain Walden receives the award. The pressure is on Serling to complete his investigation quickly and to affirm the circumstances of Walden's heroism so the President can make the award to Walden's family (she has a little daughter, who is raised by her parents, the father of her child evidently being some sort of deadbeat who bailed on his wife and child very early).Serling is fighting his own demons relating to something that happened under his command in Iraq, something we are shown bit by bit in a series of flashbacks. As played by Washington, we get the impression of a man who is barely hanging on as he represses anger and self-loathing. He's withdrawing emotionally from his wife and kids and self-medicating with alcohol to the point where General Hershberg is ready to come down hard on him if Serling doesn't get this investigation done quickly and without causing problems.And therein lies the kick: Serling very quickly discovers that there are inconsistencies in the statements of the men who were in the helicopter with Captain Walden when it went down. It also becomes very quickly evident that there is something about what happened after the helicopter went down that the men do not want to talk about.And that sets up the rest of the action in this movie. Serling has to dig out the problem while coming to terms with his own issues and trying to do justice to the memories of those killed in Iraq-- and that doesn't just mean the lady helicopter pilot.Washington is superb in this role, and this movie is much more about him than it is about Meg Ryan's character. In fact, I think people who watch this movie thinking that it's going to be about Meg Ryan's character are probably going to be disappointed. While she's good when she's on screen, her performance isn't a standout. Washington's is.Two other performances really need to be mentioned: Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays Staff Sergeant John Monfriez, and Matt Damon, who plays Medical Specialist Ilario. Both were on Captain Walden's helicopter when it went down. Monfriez went as the door gunner, and it quickly becomes clear that he did not like Captain Walden and that he wants to discourage Serling from asking questions about what happened after the helicopter went down. Ilario likewise doesn't want to talk to Serling; but where Monfriez becomes menacing when Serling confronts him, Ilario goes AWOL.Damon and Phillips are absolutely key in making this plot work, and they both deliver the goods powerfully and believably.In the end, the problems of the investigation and Serling's personal demons are both put to an end, and not necessarily in the way that the powers-that-be would like to have seen things turn out. Let's just say that the search for truth is successful.This is a must-see movie for Denzel Washington fans and works as a psychological whodunnit. It's also rewarding for people who admire the work of Matt Damon and Lou Diamond Phillips. The ending is upbeat enough to make most people happy. This is a very watchable movie as a character study, too. It isn't light entertainment, but if you want an interesting and thoughtful movie in the "war is hell" genre with a stellar performance from Washington and superb supporting performances from Damon and Phillips, this is it.