Taking Chance
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Movie Reviews of Taking Chance
Movie Review: Corpsmen (and Medics)
Summary: 5 Stars
I was an 8404 Corpsman with the FMF in Vietnam. I have talked with Field Medical Service Corpsmen of the current vintage and see the same things going on with them as me and my fellow Corpsmen from the battlefield experienced. This movie is NOT to be avoided. The catharsis and understanding engendered by this extremely well done movie are of very real value to me. I believe that all of use can and will benefit by seeing so clearly the honor and dignity our losses have been and are treated with. I saw nothing false, nothing hoaky, nothing made up or that rang false. We lost our Marine and Corpsmen buddies on the field. We bagged them, trying to get all the right parts together. We also tried, as much as possible to treat our honored dead with dignity and respect. Then they were taken away from us and we rarely, if ever, heard another word about them.
This movie clearly, honestly and explicitly shows us what happened/happens after we loose them. For me, this has very much been a healing process. Forty years and more I have carried the pain of those brothers I lost in Vietnam. Part of that pain has been put to rest. I will need to watch the film several more times, but I can feel the pain in my chest easing as I see dignity, honor, respect, acknowledgement, and caring bestowed upon our honored dead.
Lt. Col. Stroble, Kevin Bacon, Ross Katz and all the others that helped get this movie to us, who did such a great job of producing a beautiful and meaningful work, are to be congratulated. One reviewer here made some rather nasty comments about these people making a profit from the dead. These people deserve every reward they garner, cash included, for their brilliant and meaningful portrayal of a story that needed to be told. It is thoughtless talk that has caused so much pain to so many of us. Please leave us some strand of dignity and honor by taking your foul comments, and holding them close so they can hurt you, instead of me. I assume that hell has very special accommodations for the self-righteous.
Sorry for the digressions guys. Watch this! It will do wonders for your heart and soul. It will also clear out years of backlog in your tear ducts!
Movie Review: Very Well Done And Touching
Summary: 5 Stars
I kind of knew what to expect ahead of time, so this was no surprise. A well-done and poignant reminder of what is happening every day to our troops while we fret over the death of Michael Jackson.
It was hard not to be emotional about the movie. As a 24 year Air Force veteran, I was lucky to avoid being directly in any combat theater, from Viet Nam to Desert Storm. However, I supported those troops that went there either directly or indirectly. It is such a change to see the how the people of America react from when I first joined the AF in 69.
In 1970 I came back from technical school in Illinois and was at LAX waiting for my dad when I encountered some protesters. They spit on me and called me "baby burner." I'd never even been further west than Catalina Island, so to have them do that was just a sign of what they were doing to some of the guys and gals that actually went to Viet Nam.
I was later told by a college professor that my incident never happened. He said he studied the era and the hippies and protesters loved and supported the GI's, but just hated the leadership. Well, excuse me? I thought it was ironic when I saw a TV cop show in the late 70's and that same "baby burner" curse was used in the dialogue.
Of course, not all people hated someone in uniform, not even back in the early 70's, and I was made more than welcome most places. As I watched the movie, I got flashes of the outstanding treatment I have received over the years from 99% of the people I encountered while in uniform.
Today, we are in a whole different ball game. Whether the reasons for us being there are right or wrong, the fact is, we ARE there, and our boys and girls are being butchered right and left. They are more than willing to do their part for our country and should be honored. I believe this film does just that, and in a very tasteful way. Kevin Bacon did an outstanding job. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Profoundly Moving
Summary: 5 Stars
"Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother." Marine Corps LTC Mike Strobl began his after-action report with these words when his escort duties ended with PFC Chance Phelps' military funeral. When Kevin Bacon, playing Strobl in HBO's "Taking Chance," repeats them they pierce your heart and instantly put tears in your eyes.
"Taking Chance" is a war film. But it is a film that portrays what happens after all the "action," the bombs, the bullets, the combat; this is what it means when we hear of a soldier or marine being killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. This film powerfully, intimately, yet respectfully shows us the aftermath of war and of bringing our fallen for the final trip home with all the respect they so deserve.
It is a simple story, tastefully done and heart wrenching. Kevin Bacon is superb as the quietly professional LTC Strobl. He says little with his voice; rather it is his eyes and face that speak volumes. In the film Strobl feels survivor's guilt of not having served in Iraq; Bacon shows the tense anguish that tears at him under the surface. When we see Chance's exposed hand he is not a name or a statistic. He was his mother's son. When Strobl encounters a young sergeant escorting his own fallen brother home we learn that the photos in the news were real people with loving friends and family.
"Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn't know Chance before he died. Today, I miss him." With this film other war films cannot be watched the same way. A military history book cannot be read the same way. It is that profoundly moving.
Movie Review: THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
Summary: 5 Stars
STORY - Based on a true life events, this HBO docudrama follows the journey of Lt. Col. Mike Strobl who volunteers to escort the body of Chance Phelps, who was killed in action in Iraq, to his home. Strobl initially volunteered because he saw that Phelps, whom he had never met, was from the same home town in Colorado. It turns out, however, that the family wants him buried in Dubois, Wyoming and the real reason he wants to accompany the body is a deep feeling of guilt for not serving in Iraq. This is not only the personal story of Mike Strobl but an incredible look at the process of getting the bodies of fallen soldiers from foreign soil to their final home. The care, reverence, honor and respect that characterizes this process is amazing. From the smallest detail of making sure the last uniform they wear is absolutely perfect to the protocol of everyone involved along the way, including the civilians involved from airline ticket clerks to the pilot of the plane, the love and care will overwhelm you. It is also the story of Pfc. Chance Phelps, whose promotion to Lance Corporal had been overlooked the week before his death, a young man who died way before he should have. A gunner in a Humvee, his mission partners credit him for saving their lives when their convoy is hit by an IED. A potential college scholarship athlete, he chose the Marines to serve his country the best way he knew how. Like many gifted, confident young men, he probably thought he was invincible. Another terrific HBO movie and a great tribute to those who serve our country prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Make sure to have a Kleenex handy. The extras about the real Chance Phelps and Mike Strobl are very good. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews.Movie Review: Unforgettable - a moving tribute to a fallen marine
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of those rare cinematic gems that pulls the viewer in through compelling visual images and not much dialogue. Based on a true story, Kevin Bacon [in a fine performance] plays Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl who in April 2004, comes across a casualty list and sees the name of a fallen Marine from his Colorado hometown, Pfc. Chance Phelps. Though he doesn't know Phelps, Strobl requests that he be allowed to accompany the body from Dover, Del. to the Phelps' hometown in Wyoming.
There is no pro-war or anti-war message here - this is purely a poignant and heartfelt retelling of a fallen Marine's journey home, and of the honor and respect accorded to Phelps' as he makes his final journey home, accompanied by Lt Col Strobl who is himself awed and suitably grateful for all the respect accorded to Phelps' as he accompanies the casket back to Wyoming.
This is a subtly done movie and the performance by Bacon as Lt Col Strobl is understated yet effective - this is no dialogue-heavy movie, neither is it action-packed...all through the movie, it is the visual images that stay with the viewer, and of people's reactions to the casket carrying Phelps' body, as well reactions to Strobl as people discover the purpose of his mission.
I cried many times during this movie, and I'm not easily moved by what I see in movies - there is a sense of profound sadness throughout this story, and yet as a viewer, I was also overcome by an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the services of our troops and the risks they face daily. This is a moving testament to the sacrifice of a fallen Marine and a compelling portrait of the dignity accorded to the fallen and I highly recommend it.