Uncommon Valor (1983)

This forgotten little movie was probably inspiration for much more famous movie made later – „Missing in action" with Chuck Norris (1984) and "Rambo 2 " with Sylvester Stallone (1985) . All three movies have a similar story , but it was Ted Kotcheff's (director of … "Rambo : First blood " made in 1982 ) movie that first used such story . Furthermore , it's actually based on real life story of Green Beret Colonel Bo Gritz (read the F.A.Q.) . From this three movies I think that "Rambo 2" is the best movie and "Missing in action" the worst. "Uncommon valor" is forgotten , but fun movie that is worth watching.It's always a pleasure to have a Gene Hackman in a movie . His character is a strong , quiet and determined man who will do a lot to find his son . He's a true heart of the movie . Patrick Swayze also appears in this movie and gives a heartfelt performance, the best in his career . It was also good to see Randall "Tex" Cobb . He brings a lot of humor into the movie , while never making it campy. A silent hero of the movie for me is Fred Ward who plays a man with traumatic war past. The rest of the cast is also good. Watch out for Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") in a small role of Blaster's assistant.The movie mainly concentrates on the characters and the relations between them . The training takes a lot of the movie time , yet it's never boring. It's interesting to watch it , because the filmmakers invest our feelings into the characters . When the final of the movie appears we care about what happens to the characters . That's a big plus for the movie. Still , people who like action might be disappointed. I wasn't. I give it 6/10.

This DIRTY DOZEN reimagining sees army colonel Gene Hackman leading a crack squad of former soldiers into the steamy jungles of Laos in search of American soldiers declared missing in action a decade previously. The story template is familiar but the central theme of hunting for MIA soldiers in Vietnam is good enough to have inspired later, more popular action films like the Chuck Norris MISSING IN ACTION vehicles and the Stallone-starring RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II.Uncommon Valor is both similar to and different from those populist movies. In terms of last reel action, it more than holds its own with an explosive climax that involves storming a prisoner of war camp. However, there's much more to it as this film follows the DIRTY DOZEN mould closely, with plenty of time being taken up with recruitment and training. The characters are well drawn and there are enough decent actors around to make this a highly entertaining viewing experience. No-frills director Ted Kotcheff also handled the first Rambo outing, FIRST BLOOD, and he does another confident and assured job here.And…what a cast! One of the most interesting ensembles from the early 1980s. Hackman, as always, is the highlight of the film: tough, no-nonsense and yet filled with emotion lurking beneath that hard surface. Fred Ward (ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ) shows up as a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress, while bargain-basement muscleman Reb Brown (STRIKE COMMANDO) handles some comic scenes nicely. Then there's the larger-than-life Randall 'Tex' Cobb making an impression, Tim Thomerson prior to his B-movie career with Charles Band and, last but best of all, an extremely young Patrick Swayze giving a subtle and nuanced turn as the rookie of the group. You can see why Swayze went onto bigger and better things on the strength of his performance here.

Uncommon Valor stars Gene Hackman as a retired US Army Colonel who still wants an accounting of his son who was listed as Missing In Action when the Vietnam War ended in 1973. Rumors on rumors pile up as to whether we still have men kept as prisoners of war from the late conflict in Southeast Asia. Hackman thinks he has a lead and he goes to multi-millionaire Robert Stack who also has an MIA son with a plan of action that involves leading some veterans as a volunteer mercenary force to get their comrades out.I'll say the same thing I said about Rambo II which touched on the same subject. Does it make any kind of rational sense that the Vietnamese or in this case the men are being held in Laos would keep prisoners of war after the conflict has ended? My guess is, sad to say that prisoners that we could not account for being held by the enemy at the conclusion of the war would probably have been just simply murdered. But the idea that we could go back and win one in the extra innings of war certainly had appeal which accounts for the popularity of Uncommon Valor and Rambo II. At least Gene Hackman was not going to do it singlehanded the way Sly Stallone did.Bearing all that in mind, Uncommon Valor is a nice action war film if taken on its own terms. The men that Hackman selects, all veterans from the conflict, Randall Cobb, Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, Reb Brown, and Harold Sylvester are all professionals. The film never goes down to the rollicking and somewhat dopey hijinks of the A-Team. They have one youngster on the mission, a young Patrick Swayze on the cusp of stardom. He's there to rescue his father if possible.The cast has a nice chemical camaraderie to it. Uncommon Valor is a decent enough action film, not to be taken too terribly serious.

I know these types of films sell tickets and make a profit for the film makers but it just won't do as a film about Vietnam. Viet Nam was filled with horrors for the men who lived it day in and day out.This film stars Gene Hackman who is Korean war vet assigned to train a group of rag-tag Viet Nam Vets for a return trip to that country to rescue a group of American POW's held at a camp there. These men include a former tunnel rat, a crazy acid dropping sailor, a blond tanned surfer from California and some inexperienced kid (Patrick Swayze) who just so happens had a dad that was killed in Nam. They train first at some camp in Texas and once in Nam they are found out and lose all their weapons. They are able to find replacement weapons and continue on their way to free the captured men. Most of the men are found and saved but the rag-tag group is mostly wiped out.This movie played like a video game in which you could figure out what was going to happen next and who would pop out of behind what bush, and who was going to die and who was going to live. Viet Nam I'm guessing was not like a video game....