BEFORE: Another Vietnam-era film tonight, then I'm heading back to World War II.
THE PLOT: A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
AFTER: A pretty gripping story, made more powerful by its being based on a true story.
It's about the lengths that a soldier will go through to survive in a P.O.W. camp - which I've already seen a bit of in "The Bridge On the River Kwai", but this is an updated version. Here we have the horrors of being denied the basic human necessities, like food and indoor plumbing - plus the mental breakdowns that take place among the prisoners. What happens internally to men in captivity - and do they muster the courage to fight back and escape, or just shut down and become inactive?
The unfortunately-named central character, Dieter Dengler, has to rally the spirits of his fellow prisoners, convince them to help him steal items that he needs to make an escape, and then convince them that they'd be better off in the jungle than in the camp, which turns out to be a tough sell.
Starring Christian Bale (last seen in "Public Enemies"), Steve Zahn (last seen in "That Thing You Do!"), Jeremy Davies, and character actors Zach Grenier (last seen in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer") and Toby Huss (last seen in "Vegas Vacation")
RATING: 6 out of 10 machetes
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