Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan

Simply fantastic movie from start to its respective and tear jerking ending. Producers and cast have done a brilliant job of telling a story historically correct true blue Aussie story that absolutely works on the big screen.

I am a fan of war movies, particularly Vietnam and Korean War movies and this particular film won't every make an objective list of the 100 best war films of all time. I thought I had seen the worst written, and acted war film of all time with Korea's "Operation Chromite," but then this comes along. The dialogue between characters was cheezy, the filming locations did nothing to make the movie even feel like that it was in Vietnam and the much of the acting was cringe worthy. This is not an attack on the brave men who fought and died at Long Tan nor is it a hit on the Australian movie industry over all, but this film was hard to get into and impossible to find believable.

This isn't the regular Vietnam War movie. It does not look at the war with the benefits of today's moral lenses, nor does it have to. It's about Australia's biggest battle in the Vietnam's conflict. Long Tan. At that time, ('66) the Prime Minister won an emphatic electoral victory because of his support of LBJ and sending troops to Vietnam. Unlike the U.S, the domino affect was a really regional concern for Australians. The story follows a Company (Delta) from 6 Royal Australian Regiment based in Nui Dat, Southern Vietnam, led by the precocious Major Smith. Time isn't wasted filling in backstory. Character development is forged through battle and you only get to know the major characters until after the first shots are fired - the wait isn't that long. The one thing that stood out for me in this flick was the professionalism of the soldiers. As a veteran myself, I thought their fire and movement, weapon handling skills and the battlefield choreography was one of, if not, the best I have seen on film yet. One watches Platoon or Hamburger Hill and you have no idea what's going on. In this film, you see them doing fire and movement, Tactical withdrawal and the overriding mechanisms of training when the proverbial hits the fan. It is unique in many ways. It is not the traditional Vietnam War flick. It doesn't pretend to be anything other then the telling of a story that has largely been forgotten for over 40 years. A must see.

Simply fantastic movie from start to its respective and tear jerking ending. Producers and cast have done a brilliant job of telling a story historically correct true blue Aussie story that absolutely works on the big screen.

I am a fan of war movies, particularly Vietnam and Korean War movies and this particular film won't every make an objective list of the 100 best war films of all time. I thought I had seen the worst written, and acted war film of all time with Korea's "Operation Chromite," but then this comes along. The dialogue between characters was cheezy, the filming locations did nothing to make the movie even feel like that it was in Vietnam and the much of the acting was cringe worthy. This is not an attack on the brave men who fought and died at Long Tan nor is it a hit on the Australian movie industry over all, but this film was hard to get into and impossible to find believable.