Taking Chance
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Movie Reviews of Taking Chance
Movie Review: Genuinely moving
Summary: 5 Stars
Whatever their politics, I hope that every decent human would agree that fallen soldiers deserve to be treated with honor and respect, and this movie does that. It follows the transport of the remains of PFC Chance Phelps from Iraq to Rammstein in Germany, to Dover, to Philadelphia, to Minneapolis, to Billings, to his hometown in Wyoming.
Phelps is escorted home by Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, played by Kevin Bacon in the kind of performance that amazes you with how much a good actor can express by doing very little. Strobl was decorated in combat in Desert Storm, but feels guilt over his office duty when other soldiers are again dying in Iraq. He peruses casualty lists on his computer at night, and sees a soldier (Phelps) from his hometown, and volunteers for escort duty.
The movie treats the subject matter with as much reverence as the US Military treats soldiers' remains--with very human attention to detail. From the soldiers preparing the bodies for burial to the airport tarmac luggage handlers, to Strobl's fellow airplane passengers, only one person in the entire movie is less than respectful to Strobl's journey--an inflexible airport security screener, whom Strobl faces down with determined stoicism.
The movie has a minimal plot, no antagonist over whom the protagonist triumphs, and little action. It is neither an anti-war sermon nor a rah-rah military recruitment video. It is almost entirely made up of small, heartbreaking gestures of humanity and respect by strangers toward a fallen Marine and his escort.
Movie Review: "Taking Chance", The MOST POWERFUL Movie you will see!
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon is the most moving and powerful movie you will EVER see. From the first moments of the movie right to the end of it you will be moved, not only moved but moved to tears. The role Kevin Bacon plays is his best work ever, I am shocked that he or the movie did not win coutless awards. When you watch this movie the one thing that is so hard to forget is that this same thing happens each and every day in America and all over the world, every time a U.S. service member is killed. Both my father, step-father, brother and my best friend were career Army and I was in the Air Force, (I guess I got tired of seeing green my whole life so I went for the blue uniform) and you will never forget a military funeral. But what you never see at the funeral is all the work, care, concern, respect and love that the fallen service member is treated with. When I was in the Air Force I remember seeing the Hornor Guard at our base practicing every day to make sure that when they were called on it was perfect. The movie "Taking Chance" is also perfect! Perfect acting and perfect casting. Not only Kevin Bacon and his role in this but right down to the airport baggage workers, Rich the driver to the airport, Annie on the plane with Kevin Bacon, Chance's family, it is all perfect. Watch this movie once and it will go on your list of all time favorites, I have watched it at least ten times already. Everyone I know that has seen it says the same thing about this movie, "WOW".Movie Review: A VISCERAL EXPERIENCE FROM A VETERAN
Summary: 5 Stars
THIS MOVIE WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO WATCH.I FOUND MYSELF AN EMOTIONAL WRECK WHILE VIEWING IT.
.DURING OUR SEVEN MONTH TOUR WE(OUR BATTALION)SUFFERED THE LOSS OF OVER 15 MARINES TO COMBAT AND TOO MANY WOUNDED TO REMEMBER.IN COMBAT THERE IS NO CLOSURE WITH THE PASSING OF WARRIORS.THE MISSION IS THE PRIORITY AND THATS ALL THERE IS TO IT.I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS ABOUT IT.BOTTOM LINE IS THIS FILM WAS THERAPEUTIC FOR ME AND HELPED PUT SOME CLOSURE TO THOSE WE LOST.WHEN A MARINE WAS KILLED IN COMBAT, THE MISSION CONTINUED AND IT COULD BE DAYS OR WEEKS BEFORE YOU RETURN TO THE FOB(FORWARD OPERATING BASE).WHEN YOU DID RETURN, THE FALLEN S' BELONGINGS WERE GONE AND ALL TRACES OF HIM AS WELL.JUST THE MEMORIES REMAINED AND THE NEXT PATROL.WE NEVER GOT TO SEE OR EVEN SPECULATE AS TO THE PROCESS OF RETURNING THE FALLEN WARRIOR TO HIS HOME.YOU QUICKLY BECAME A FATALIST AND LEARNED TO TURN ON AND OFF EMOTION ON COMMAND. I COULD NOT CONTROL MY EMOTION WHILE WATCHING THIS.IT JUST POURED OUT.IT TOOK SEVERAL VIEWING ATTEMPTS BEFORE I COULD ACTUALLY COMPLETE WATCHING THE FILM.KEVIN BACON'S PORTRAYAL AS A MARINE OFFICER WAS OUTSTANDING AND AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IN AND OF ITSELF.THIS FILM SHOULD BE MANDATORY VIEWING FOR EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN.IT ONLY SKIMS THE SURFACE OF RAW EMOTION, BUT DOES A GREAT JOB AT IT.I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH.COMBAT VETERANS MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THE COMPANY THEY KEEP AS THEY WATCH THE FILM THOUGH, IT CAN BE ROUGH.THANK YOU.
Movie Review: A moving American experience
Summary: 5 Stars
A deeply moving story and another plus for HBO. To my mind you just don't see too many movies that have this kind of honesty. One that comes to mind was The Straight Story. Taking Chance, though, is a completely different theme dealing with death, respect, honor, patriotism, family and love. Fortunately all of this is handled in a straightforward no-nonsense way and thank goodness it was. Hollywood really doesn't have too much of a reputation for presenting a simple truth without twisting it into something else.
The story unfolds very much like a documentary I thought. Kevin Bacon plays Lt. Col. Michael Strobl as the military escort taking the body of a dead soldier home to be buried. His performance was just right as was everyone else because the story was greater than all the parts combined. Particularly rewarding to watch, while the coffin, covered by the flag, was at airports or on the highway, was the way ordinary people took it upon themselves to pay their respects to someone they didn't know but who had died for his country: for them.
I don't know if this kind of movie is awards material. I think the story, in its simplicity and honesty, puts it way above the hype, razzle-dazzle and celebrity PR nonsense that surround awards. It's just too good to be commercialized in that way. It would be wonderful if its stature was achieved by word-of-mouth alone.
See it and be moved!
Movie Review: A moving and profound film
Summary: 5 Stars
I viewed this film at a pre-screening, and I left the theater deeply moved. It's a simple story made into a heartfelt film -- Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (perfectly played by Kevin Bacon) accompanies the remains of Private First Class Chance Phelps from the mortuary at Dover AFB in Delaware to his home in Wyoming.
The Marine's death in Iraq occurs in the tense first minute of the film, with viewers only hearing the radio chatter and the explosion on a black screen. The screen comes to light with PFC Phelps' remains being sent to the U.S. The care of the remains and the personal effects makes visible and gives dignity to the anonymous work at Dover AFB.
The story takes the viewer into some seldom-seen corners of America -- from airport cargo facilities to the mountain highways of Wyoming -- and shows everywhere the reverence for the fallen. When the escort gives Phelps' watch, dog tags, and wooden cross to his parents, eight days after his death, even men will feel the tears coming. Finally, as LtCol Strobl (who had not yet been to Operation Iraqi Freedom when he accompanied Phelps' remains home) thinks over the experience, there's a meditation on where duty lies for a Marine Corps officer.
Director Ross Katz, Kevin Bacon, and HBO have given us a profound film that grants us a rare look not at America's prosperity, or freedoms, or politics -- but rather America's soul.
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