Review: Courage Under Fire

How much should we really expect of our military personnel, when they're caught in a life-threatening crisis? That's the central question of Courage Under Fire, the 1996 film starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Matt Damon, Michael Moriarty and Lou Diamond Phillips.

One of two characters put under the microscope for how they reacted while literally under fire is Colonel Nat Serling (Denzel Washington), who was commanding a platoon of tanks during a Desert Storm invasion of Iraq when an enemy tank inserted itself into their midst. As the Yanks started taking fire from within their own ranks, Serling gave the order to blast what he thought was the T-72 responsible for the attack... only to discover moments later that he'd actually shelled one of the American vehicles, killing his own officer and friend.

He'd been up for promotion going into that battle, but that's the last thing on his mind as he returns home months later, haunted by memories of his gaffe and the price that was paid for it. Rather than being bumped up to General, though, (is that what's above Colonel in U.S. Army rank?) he's given the demeaning task of investigating another officer, Captain Walden, who's being considered for the Medal of Honour. What makes this more than a routine assignment, though, are three things: Serling soon learns that Captain Walden's first name is Karen, meaning that she'd be the first woman to ever receive the honour; she's being considered for the award because of her actions during an attempted rescue during another point of Operation: Desert Storm, but some questions exist as to how she actually comported herself during the crisis (painfully reminding the Colonel of his own mistake under similar circumstances); and the medal, if awarded, will be given posthumously, as Capt Walden (played by Meg Ryan) died during the rescue. That last point means that Serling can't interview Walden herself, but instead has to rely solely on the testimony of others who were there.

The parallels between Serling's situation, as he drifts further and further away from his wife and children thanks to the guilt that he's not able to deal with, and the emerging tale of just what happened to the helicopter that Capt Walden was piloting, are perhaps a shade heavy-handed in parts. Overall, though, Courage Under Fire is an engrossing study of human bravery and weakness, with very good performances by Washington and Ryan, the latter of whom is naturally only seen via flashbacks. That limitation, along with the fact that we get to know her through the sometimes-contradictory accounts of others, leaves us with an unfinished set of feelings toward Ryan's Capt Walden, which seems appropriate in such a Rashomon-like approach to her story-within-a-story.

Among the other cast members, a very young Matt Damon plays one of Walden's copter-mates, and he delivers the goods in a final scene that requires more range than we usually see out of Damon. Phillips is appropriately slimy as another member of the crew, and Moriarty seems a bit off throughout as Serling's superior officer, General Hershberg, but by the end of it you come to realize why. Scott Glenn has a small but pivotal role as a reporter who starts off as Serling's nemesis before evolving into something much more interesting.

One of the clever bits of storytelling that impressed me was the way in which the final resolution of the tank battle that opens the film is held back until late in the proceedings, but is done in such a way as to make you think that you've already seen everything there is to see (when, in fact, you should have realized that you hadn't). There's also a nifty little "reveal" about what happened with the helicopter crew that I didn't see coming at all.

I didn't know what to expect from this 12-year-old offering, but it definitely provided solid entertainment, a compelling story, some good performances, and a few moving moments.

Rating: *** 1/2