Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

zkonedog There are two primary reasons why I chose to recently watch this film: First, the fact that Denzel Washington is such an incredible, impassionate actor. Second, that Washington's movies often serve as vehicles to stoke his creative talents. He feeds the script with his passion, and his passion can take a decent story and turn it into an emotional one. However, "Courage Under Fire" failed to hook me in on both of those counts.Let's begin with the plot: Basically, Denzel plays a former military commander from Desert Storm (with a pretty big skeleton in his closet) who is now in charge of investigating the applicants for the prestigious "Medal of Honor" military award. While researching this particular case, however, "Denzel" stumbles upon a few little inconsistencies that, once they begin to add up, point to a larger cover-up at work. The story is told through the flash-backs of all the people that "Denzel" speaks with while doing his detective work, so to speak. Of course, as is human recollection, each person has a bit of a different "take" on the subject...but is it really just bad memories or something more sinister?Though that may sound like a very interesting plot, to me it fell flat because it tried to do too many things at one time when it could have just focused on one it two. It tries to be an action picture, but there aren't enough war scenes to justify that characterization. It tries to be a mystery, but that doesn't really work because the viewer never really (at least I didn't) figures out exactly what went on in the central point of conflict. Finally, the film also tries to be a morality play, yet not even that tugs at the heartstrings (not the dramatic ones, at least) since it is so stoic and military-esque in its approach.Perhaps the biggest failure in this film, though, was the missed opportunities (or maybe it was just bad casting) for Denzel Washington. As a performer, he is at his peak when he is given the opportunity to emote wildly and passionately for a cause he strongly believes in. However, this film takes on such a rigid, non-dramatic tone that Denzel never gets to show that incredible acting style. One only one occasion does he start to get heated, but that approach is quickly squashed and the procedural stuff rolls on.Thus, I really can't recommend this film to fans of Washington's work, or to fans of military mystery/thrillers. It is just too procedural and droll to really hook you into the whole experience. A 2.5 star rating would have been my optimal choice, but there is just enough solid acting and some compelling material to give it a boost up rather than down.

juneebuggy Pretty great movie with an enthralling storyline which is made even more interesting because each member of "the crew" has a different version of what actually happened. Excellent performances here from Lou Diamond Phillips and a painfully (painfully) emaciated Matt Damon.Denzel Washington plays a Lt Colonel reviewing a female soldiers (Meg Ryan) candidacy for the medal of honor. Ultimately his quest reveals conflicting versions of the story from her crew.I have to say Meg Ryan was terrible in this, just painful to watch as Capt. Walden. The battle scenes also felt kinda cheesy (special effects wise) but this was still a great film, despite its flaws. 05.13

LeonLouisRicci There is a strong Story here as an investigation ensues about a potential Medal of Honor recipient and the mysterious conflict of testimonies. It is given a twist with a shot of estrogen as the Soldier involved is the first Female to possibly (Posthumously) be awarded the Nation's Highest Military Honor.That should be enough to make this a riveting Mystery and through flashbacks we are shown some striking battle Scenes. So why add the conflict and strife to the investigating Officer. It is completely unnecessary and is the weakest part of the Film and almost drags it down with unconvincing situations of Combat guilt and Family Dysfunction. That could be a whole other Movie. But with that bloating aside there are some strong Performances by the young Cast (actually outshining Denzel) in supporting Roles as the Combat Unit in question. There is a back Story to everyone and it holds up quite well with the central Theme. It must be mentioned here that although, Meg Ryan is miscast as the Captain, she tries her best but cannot outgrow her limitations and convince as a tough Girl in a hopeless, self sacrificing situation.Overall, not a bad Movie and is worth a watch for the strong parts, but there is much too much padding here, plus the heavy dose of sentimentality finally drags this down from Great Movie to just above Average.

Momcat_of_Lomita 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.