Call Me a Snob
I generally prefer to read non-fiction books about war than watch movies. After you've read a lot of eyewitness stuff, war movies just seem so... phony. Even when I was growing up in the '80s and early '90s- before I'd read quite so many war stories and military histories- I knew how cheesily bad most war movies made during those decades were. I just could never get into Missing in Action and Commando. I'm not even sure those should be categorized as war movies. There are still a couple war flicks that I've enjoyed, though.
Under the Radar:
Lesser known but still pretty good- at least as a teen when I taped them off of the TV and watched them over and over on my VCR- are:
Uncommon Valor
Attack Force Z
Overrated:
Maybe it's because I love the books so much (I've read BHD at least half a dozen times and WWSO at least three) but I really disliked the movie versions of Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers... I also did not like the movie version of Thin Red Line. The book was much better.
I really liked A Bridge Too Far and the Longest Day when I was a kid. After I read the books, the movies lost some of their luster.
Like:
Unlike several folks here, I really like Saving Private Ryan. I also really like Band of Brothers; The Pacific, not so much.
I'm not sure whether it should be considered a war movie, but I really liked Inglorious Basterds.
I risk getting flamed for this one- I know it's very "Hollywood"- but I enjoyed Behind Enemy Lines.
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