In the end, his We Were Soldiers works as a new hybrid -- the war film as a tearjerker. full review

Mel Gibson fights the good fight in Vietnam in director Randall Wallace's flag-waving war flick with a core of decency. full review

... one of the best war movies of the past 20 years. full review

Probably the best thing you can say about We Were Soldiers is that it does justice to an awful conflict. full review

Makes you cry for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who died so pointlessly with Geoghegan. And their orphans. full review

As I settled into my World War II memories, I found myself strangely moved by even the corniest and most hackneyed contrivances. full review

After suffering through We Were Soldiers, I think I've seen all the war movies I care to endure for quite some time.

By comparison, Oliver Stone's Platoon plays like the experience of a sensibly outraged man worthy of our sympathy. full review

The battle sequences in We Were Soldiers aren't quite as head-spinning as in Black Hawk Down -- but this film does a much better job of establishing the characters before they plunge into battle. full review

Even those stout hearts who managed to sit through the gore of Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down will likely find it difficult to watch scenes such as the one where a soldier's face is burned away by a phosphorus grenade. full review

The sentimental cliches mar an otherwise excellent film. A powerful performance from Mel Gibson and a brutal 90-minute battle sequence that does everything but issue you a dog-tag and an M-16.

... the first film in recent memory that a major studio has chosen to release early in the year with palpable filmmaking passion and production heft. full review

Goes beyond the familiar.

The story it tells is both forgotten and relevant, a neat trick.