Movie Reviews for The Pentagon Wars

The Pentagon Wars

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Movie Reviews of The Pentagon Wars

Movie Review: Funny, but not funny like it looks on the cover
Summary: 4 Stars

I find it faintly amusing and more than a bit chilling that this movie is clearly being marketed as a wacky Army satire which has the small advantage of being, y'know, true. The story is about the almost incredibly prolonged and massively costly development of the not-very-good Bradley fighting vehicle. It's not as much of a deathtrap as a Humm-Vee, but it still cost far too much money to develop, and the end result is the product of a series of compromises designed to fit the whims of whichever bunch of generals happened to be responsible for deciding what it should be for at any given time.

The Bradley is in service in Iraq and the best thing that can be said about it is that in the first Gulf War, it destroyed more Iraqi armoured vehicles than the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank - which in turn doesn't say very much for the Abrams. In the current war, it has proven to be vulnerable to guerrilla tactics, such as attacks by individuals armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. It is not nearly as good as it could have been, and this film is an only lightly fictionalised version of how American soldiers came to be going into battle in an expensive and not very good vehicle. (Compare the Israeli Merkava tank, designed with the emphasis not on lots of groovy features but on crew survivability.)

It's a funny film, with fine work by Cary Elwes and a pre-West Wing Richard Schiff, with also some top-grade scenery chewing by Kelsey Grammar. But it's also depressing. Military incompetence is alive and well, and it's dwelling at the heart of the US military right now. (What else explains the design of the Bradley and also the planning and initial execution of the war in Iraq?)

Movie Review: Sad but true
Summary: 4 Stars

Watch out America, here comes the Pentagon. True story of one man's fight (Cary Elwes)portraying a loyal and efficient Lt Colonel of the Air Force against the hard driving antics of a Major General of the Army (Kelsey Grammar). The poor Colonel trying desperately to stop the production of the Bradley Fighting vehicle before it went into production. The saga is lighthearted with both comedic as well as the stark reality of men as expendable. This story is true; sorry to say that the ambition of some against the safety of the men who would be in the Bradley. The frying of sheep to prove that a direct hit would kill all those inside blunted by those who will stop at nothing to conceal the truth behind the tests. You find yourself shaking your head in disbelief. That this could happen is comical yet tragic. Kelsey Grammar is excellent in this role and you will find yourself cheering for the underdog Cary Elwes. A must see for those who want the truth.

Movie Review: Great flick!
Summary: 5 Stars

If you have anything to do with Army Acquisition, this is a must see!

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Movie Review: One of my Favorite Movies
Summary: 5 Stars

I'm so glad I found this movie on DVD. I had the same movie on VHS and my VCR is on its last legs. I'm in the AF and this movie isn't at all beyond belief on how things are ran in the Pentagon. It's a great example of the AF Core Values (Integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do), but as with many military movies it has some foul language.