Tunnel Rats (2008)

One has to be very patient to see this film up to the end. It is a boring story of soldiers who are battling against Viet Kong in the tunnels. The battles are dull and rather short, unlike the long and uninteresting dialogues. Following this film, one sees the same scenes repeated over and over, without a scheme of story that would attract the viewer's interest and make the film worth seeing. All in all, no plot, no meaning, no point. Only the direction is just acceptable.My vote 2/10.

I just visited a military forum earlier today the Army Rumour Service website , the self styled unofficial website of the modern day British . One interesting thread amongst the many informative and interesting threads on the forum is "Worst War Film Ever " (WWFE) . One chap on the thread read my review of HOOLIGANS AT WAR and said while it was a pile of "£^&%£ it wasn't as bad as "The one about the tunnel rats in Vietnam" . The same poster brought up the topic again on the WWFE saying it was the worst film he'd ever seen . Totally intrigued I demanded to know the title of this atrocity . " The Tunnel Rats from 2008 directed by Uwe Boll" came the reply . I had to do a bit of searching , but not too much searching in order to find it With a title like 1968 TUNNEL RATS you're probably expecting a Vietnam war film featuring the role of the eponymous tunnel rats in that conflict . I know I was . Since the Viet Cong built a vast number of tunnels throughout the South of the country . American soldiers employed specials who'd have the dangerous and thankless task of actually going down , both as a recce mission and destroying the tunnels . PLATOON briefly touched upon this subject as did at least one episode of TOUR OF DUTY but only briefly . As someone who watched a lot of Vietnam war films to the point where it became overkill it might be interesting to watch a different aspect from a war which has etched itself upon the human psyche No such luck because 1968 TUNNEL RATS is exploitation with a capital E . It does have a look and feel of one of those things that was appearing in the 1980s usually with Chuck Norris where the hero goes back to the 'Nam , usually to rescue abandoned MIAs while killing lots and lots of commies . It's hardly cerebral anti-war statement and is closer to mindless war porn fun and as much as I hate myself for saying this it is actually fun on an exploitation level . Much of the fun comes about watching Boll try and disguise his non existent budget by staging an epic battle scene on a Forward Operating Base . Having no budget means the FOB is a couple of tents and a sandbag bunker . When the VC attack it's painfully obvious there's only about three VC soldiers attacking a base of four Americans . He shoots the small outside set from different angles and every time there's a cut to a gun battle the shot is in medium close up never failing to disguise the fact that there's never more than three or four extras being used . Nice try Uwe but you're fooling no one but thanks for giving us a brainless film that is more entertaining than it possibly deserves to be

Prolific German director Uwe Boll has become something of a spittoon for film-going audiences with his much-hated video game-based action and horror movies, such as House of the Dead (2003), Alone in the Dark (2005) and BloodRayne (2005). While the aforementioned movies range from atrocious to just below passable, his later non-game based films have earned some more positive comments too. I was skeptical about his Vietnam War tale Tunnel Rats when popping the DVD in the player last night, but in the end the atmospheric film proved out to be fairly enjoyable.The story is set in 1968 Vietnam where a platoon of American soldiers is clearing the underground tunnels that the Vietnamese troops use in their stealth missions and connections. The dark, narrow and frequently booby-trapped tunnels are anything but safe, but when a massive Viet Cong attack begins, life above the ground is just as cheap and bodies start piling up quicker than can be counted.Unlike many mindless actioners, Tunnel Rats begins rather slowly; the first third of the runtime is spent on getting to know the soldiers as they pass time during the day and night before their tunnel mission begins the next day. The hardened veterans and enthusiastic or frightened rookies don't feel particularly memorable or unique compared to other war movies, but some characters are at least somewhat worth caring about, such as Privates Verano and Porterson (Rocky Marquette and Garikayi Mutambirwa). However, I don't think the charm of the film is really in character drama anyway (indeed, according to Boll there was no script and the actors improvised their lines); the story works much more effectively once the action gets going because it manages to not feel like a generic carbon-copy of the Rambo series like I was worried it would.The claustrophobic tunnels are lit extremely scarcely with yellow hand-held lights that make the underground scenes feel very atmospheric even if (or because) it is sometimes difficult to see what exactly is happening on the screen. The cinematography in the scenes above the ground has a faded, washed-out look that makes the green jungle appear all the more miserable a place. Besides the visuals, the subdued score by Jessica de Rooij also supports the mood well, beginning as little more than a compilation of ominous tones but ultimately turning into a pleasantly low-key accompaniment for the battles that could have easily felt overtly banal with more bombastic music.The best scenes are saved for the last: the agonizing, nightmarish crawls through collapsing tunnels, the encounter with a frightened Vietnamese family hiding underground and the explosion-heavy fights in the Army base are all fairly suspenseful and done in a less cartoony way than could be expected judging from Boll's earlier efforts (that is not to say Tunnel Rats wouldn't present a fair share of gory violence though). The downbeat ending is left somewhat open but makes its point clear in an enjoyably laconic way.Although Tunnel Rats is not quite a masterpiece, it is a fairly well made war film and would surely have a higher user rating if Boll's name was not attached to it. Were the characters more memorable, the movie could have been even better, but I dare to recommend it to fans of the genre even as it is now. All in all, perhaps grudgingly it must be acknowledged that Uwe Boll actually can make a good film, even if a lot of people would prefer him to remain an easy target for mockery and sarcasm.

There are many occupations one might chose while in the Military, being a Tunnel Rat in Viet-Nam is not one of the favorites. Having served in Viet-Nam, I will say, blunt admiration went out from the members of our platoon and little disrespect was ever shown to those who survived. This film is called " Tunnel Rats " and brings to the fore, the thankless but courageous job these men did. I suspect the director's intent was to show the dramatic, dangerous and often suicidal missions these specialist were sent to accomplish. Filming both sides of the conflict, the camera also offered the Vietnamese' struggles against the Americans. From what there is to see, the soldiers on both sides engage in brutal and terrifying face to face combat with split-second reactions at every meeting. Michael Pare is supposedly a Lt. but listed as a Sargent in the film and with his men is dropped into the jungles with a search and destroy mission. Once inside the black maze-like underground environment, life takes on a nightmarish and hellish life of its own. Only the actual combat soldier who survives the encounters could ever reveal what it's like to be scared every second beneath the natural cemetery. A good film, but difficult to follow as most of the action is filmed in the dark. Despite it being a bit inaccurate, its worthwhile watching. ***