The Pentagon Wars
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Movie Reviews of The Pentagon Wars
Movie Review: It would be very funny if it were not based on a true story
Summary: 5 Stars
The acting is great and the storyline funny and sad at the same time. Viola Davis, my favorite actress, is great as usual. I recommend the film.Movie Review: Brilliantly on target
Summary: 5 Stars
It is well-known that when it comes to procurement, the Department of Defense does not usually put a priority on such incidentals as whether the item actually works. DOD history is cluttered with such gold-plated duds as the Sergeant York gun and the infamous $7600 coffeemaker. "The Pentagon Wars," a made-for-cable film originally aired on HBO, is a devastatingly satirical -- and true -- look at one such boondoggle, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.Col. James Burton (Cary Elwes) is a by-the-books Air Force officer who is given the job of making sure the Bradley is effective and ready for use. He quickly learns that the vehicle is a Frankenstein's monster, designed by committee and unable to do any of the tasks it was meant for, but which is being built anyway. In his attempts to adequately test the vehicle, Burton is up against Gen. Partridge (Kelsey Grammer), who is determined to get the Bradley into production no matter what. After all, it has been 17 years in design, with $14 billion already spent on it. Who cares whether it works or not? Burton does, actually, and is equally determined to make sure the Bradley actually works before he signs off on it, an attitude which does not earn him plaudits from Partridge. Running interference are Col. Bock and Maj. Sayers (John C. McGinley and Tom Wright), who sabotage every one of Burton's tests with darkly hilarious results.
(The buy-it-now-and-test-it-later culture is, unfortunately, alive and well in the Pentagon even today. No better illustration exists than the $50 billion -- pre-cost overruns -- National Missile Defense, now in production despite failing most tests and passing a few only under grossly rigged test conditions.)
"The Pentagon Wars" is a darkly gleeful look at the government weapons procurement culture. Pick it up if you get a chance.
Movie Review: Its happening again! Army now pushing lav3stryker deathtrap!
Summary: 5 Stars
What makes this film so haunting is that its a true story that is repeating itself before our very eyes with the Army's thin-skinned, air-filled rubber-tired LAV-3 Styker armored car boondoggle that will get our men killed in combat. The film shows the exact same PR tactics and lying "spin" the Army and DoD use to put people second and their programs/promotions first. The depiction of how the Army will cheat on tests to masquerade that "all is well" with a program is common as seen by the recent efforts to deceive the public by flying overweight lav3strykers a short distance by C-130 aircraft with less fuel inside to compensate--exactly how in the movie the Bradley's fuel tanks were filled just with the minimum fuel to drive in front of the audience grandstands and to the aim point for the test anti-tank weapon to hit it. The tragedy is that after 2 decades, the Army today is rushing the lav3stryker deathtrap into production without ANY live-fire testing against fully fueled and ammo loaded vehicles fired at by RPGs or 14.5mm heavy machine guns thanks to a loophole in DoD procurement. Too bad Colonel Burton wasn't on duty now in the Pentagon. When they make the sequel to this movie, "Pentagon Wars II: the lav3stryker" it looks like the ending will not be a happy one with a better vehicle (upgraded M113A3 Gavins) going into service. The horror of hundreds of dead American Soldiers Colonel Burton wanted to prevent will be our wake-up call.
If we ignored this film and Col Burton's book its based on, what makes us think the Pentagon will change after needless deaths?
Movie Review: All too true in the military
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first saw this movie on HBO my jaw just hit the floor like a bowling ball. I was just an aspiring Private in the Army and in the Infantry working directly with the Bradley Vehicle no less and to see this sort of thing going on in Washington made me think twice about what I was doing and who I was working with. Can't believe that if it wasn't for this Air Force Col., casualties in the Gulf War would have been higher. The movie is great and I recommend that everyone should see it, have a good laugh and thank those soldiers who risk their lives not only against a possible enemy but with the equipment they work with.Movie Review: Completely captivating and hillarious
Summary: 5 Stars
Having worked in the Air Force, I can attest that this film is almost a documentary.
Plus, it's absolutely hillarious! Kelsey Grammar offers the same sort of role that he did in Down Periscope (which I also liked).
Cary offers a great performance. This film is very highly recommended.