Buffalo Soldiers (2003)

i served August 61 to August 63. there was no shooting war at that time, however when i was drafted there was something called The Berlin Crisis going on, where pre-Berlin wall, we had American tanks facing down Russian tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, so we had an "quickie" Basic Training. may i add that everything was up in the air, so anyone who walked into the induction station, was deemed "fit for service", no matter what. there were a bunch of lame and halt servicemen during my time. then of course there was the Cuban Missle go around where we all held our collective breath. Viet Nam was bubbling, but would not be brought to a boil until after my release from active duty. this film, The Buffalo Soldiers was certainly not within my military experience. i was stationed at a army general hospital in France for the final eleven months of my tour of duty. it would seem that at a hospital there would be many opportunities for all kinds of hanky-panky but i can state from my position in hospital headquarters, there was not even a hint of any wrong doing such as was outlined in this film. we had our share of drunks among the enlisted personnel. i can't speak for the officers,but as i said, i was in the hospital headquarters, so i would have heard of seen any type of such major or minor wrong doing.to tell the exact truth, i viewed my time in service as something akin to a two year tooth ache. as the years piled up however, i came to the conclusion that my service did have a purpose and was something to be very proud of. maybe i mellowed, or perhaps just grew up.at any rate Buffalo Soldiers was not a film i could enjoy or identify with. no matter how i look at this film it was a bad work of fiction. if you are interested in a truer picture of military service, i would suggest Gardens of Stone. if a factual view of actual wartime combat is wanted, Saving Private Ryan can show the real face of combat and being in the military during wartime. a more sanitized version of combat is shown in Band of Brothers. people are shot or hit with major explosives, but not a lot of blood is shown as spilled.

The author has taken Robert Stone's haunting "Dog Soldiers" and moved it to peacetime, Europe, and the tiresomely predictable FTA perspective of a minor English prof. It is 3.2 beer at best. Stick to "Mash" or "Catch 22" for this kind of thing."Buffalo Soldiers" is a term of honor coined by the Plains Indians to describe brave black soldiers they met in battle of the US Cavalry on the 10th Cav and other black units because of their nappy hair. Apparently the author hasn't a clue about what the term means.The cast does its best, but the stereotypes kill the film early on. It is tedious, never generates any real tension, and is as predictable as a Roadrunner cartoon. The only difference is they are a lot more fun to watch.

If you've ever been in the military you will love this movie. It's basically a Sargent Bilko without the slapstick.Covers the more seedy side of military life and has some great jokes, plot twists and one liners.Elwood is the classic E-4 and gets up to all kinds of crazy stuff. Hes basically running a lot of little schemes from his position as one of the Battalion Commanders trusted office personnel.But Elwoods life takes a turn for the worst when a new First Sargent that takes no BS is assigned to his unit and threatens to undermine Elwoods little operations.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX stars in this independent feature that was denied distribution in the U.S. shortly after 9/11 happened since it's a rather anti-military look at shenanigans among enlisted men at a U.S. Army camp in the peacetime Germany of 1989. Phoenix is an army corporal involved in a lot heavier black market stuff than Sgt. Bilko ever was, and to call this a comedy is rather a stretch, although there are patches of dark humor in what some here are calling a black comedy.The comedy is strictly in some of the situations which get totally out of control when boredom sets in and the soldiers get drunk while on duty during maneuvers with a tank. The first half has some amusing incidents but once the new top Sgt. Lee takes over from the clueless Col. Berman, things take a darker turn. It seems the corporal has been deliberately tweaking Sgt. Lee by dating Lee's daughter right under his nose. This is where the film changes course as Lee decides to wreak revenge on the corporal in the most humiliating ways, even ordering a daybreak target practice to destroy the corporal's luxurious car.It's the heroin operation that seems really contrived with all sorts of mayhem breaking out when various factions are pitted against each other. A blazing fireworks of a climax has Phoenix and SCOTT GLENN engaged in a life and death struggle that leads to the film's rather ironic ending that lets us know that Phoenix will continue his thieving ways in the army under a new commanding officer.Not bad, but really not a flattering glimpse of U.S. Army life. There are some laughable moments but the latter half of the film is distinctly geared toward the dark side. Phoenix plays it straight all the way through, charming enough in a rascally sort of way but never giving the material the light touch that it seems to need.As Leonard Maltin observed: "Not bad as black comedy...but grows increasingly unpleasant as story unfolds."