a5c7b9f00b This film is a series of flashbacks in which Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Serling attempts to determine whether Captain Karen Walden deserves to be the first woman ever to win the Medal of Honor for combat.
Two fictional combat stories come together in this film set during the Gulf War (Aug. 1990-Feb. 1991) and afterwards. LCol Nat Serling is haunted by a mistake he made that cost the lives of a friend and his tank crew. He investigates the recommended Medal of Honor for Capt. Karen Walden, who was killed after her rescue helicopter was shot down. Conflicting reports lead him to probe deeper to uncover the truth about Walden and all of her crew, who survived. In the process, he comes to grips with his own demons.
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&#39;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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Because the pilot&#39;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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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&#39;s death to determine whether her actions qualify her for the honor of receiving the Medal of Honor.<br/><br/>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&#39;s heroism so the President can make the award to Walden&#39;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).<br/><br/>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&#39;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&#39;t get this investigation done quickly and without causing problems.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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&#39;t just mean the lady helicopter pilot.<br/><br/>Washington is superb in this role, and this movie is much more about him than it is about Meg Ryan&#39;s character. In fact, I think people who watch this movie thinking that it&#39;s going to be about Meg Ryan&#39;s character are probably going to be disappointed. While she&#39;s good when she&#39;s on screen, her performance isn&#39;t a standout. Washington&#39;s is.<br/><br/>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&#39;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&#39;t want to talk to Serling; but where Monfriez becomes menacing when Serling confronts him, Ilario goes AWOL.<br/><br/>Damon and Phillips are absolutely key in making this plot work, and they both deliver the goods powerfully and believably.<br/><br/>In the end, the problems of the investigation and Serling&#39;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&#39;s just say that the search for truth is successful.<br/><br/>This is a must-see movie for Denzel Washington fans and works as a psychological whodunnit. It&#39;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&#39;t light entertainment, but if you want an interesting and thoughtful movie in the &quot;war is hell&quot; genre with a stellar performance from Washington and superb supporting performances from Damon and Phillips, this is it.
&quot;Courage Under Fire&quot; is an intelligent, intense and ultimately excellent film from 1996 that was overlooked for reasons I cannot figure out. The film deals with an Army lieutenant (Denzel Washington) who is assigned to investigate whether or not a late helicopter command pilot (Meg Ryan) should receive the Medal of Honor posthumously from the U.S. government. The fact that no woman has ever received the honor makes it all the more imperative, but what really happened to Ryan and those she commanded in Iraq during Desert Storm? Washington must find out from those who survived and piece the facts together to determine if Ryan is truly worthy of the honor. The problem is: each survivor has a different story. Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Another key factor is that Washington himself is fighting his own inner-demons as he unwittingly ordered a tank to be destroyed while he was in command of his own unit during the war. &quot;Courage Under Fire&quot; is just excellent in every way possible. The screenplay is dramatic and focused and Ed Zwick&#39;s direction is the best of his career. Denzel Washington is a guaranteed performance as usual. Meg Ryan does the best work of her career as her part is told in all flashbacks. Matt Damon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Scott Glenn, Michael Moriarty and Bronson Pinchot (!?) all are perfect in well-calculated dramatic turns. 5 stars out of 5.
Intelligent, involving and serious, it is as honestly emotional as Hollywood allows itself to get, a story of the search for wartime truth whose own concern for the genuine makes all the difference.
The image used in this article is the DVD cover from the UK release (which is also indicated by the &quot;15&quot; in the lower right corner). This is not a deliberate misspelling or disrespect toward American military by the movie studio, but a special design meant for the UK market.
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