Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

SnoopyStyle In 1972, Frank Rhodes got left behind in Vietnam and taken prisoner. His father retired Col Jason Rhodes (Gene Hackman) keeps pushing for years to get him back. He's gathered up intel and a target. Then he gathers up Frank's brothers-in-arms to go into Laos for a rescue. He has even built a replica of the camp in Texas and hired Kevin Scott (Patrick Swayze) to get them into shape. All the plans are thrown out the window when the government takes away all of the weapons.The story is bad unrealistic 80s fare. It tries to be better than the various Chuck Norris or Rambo movies. That's why they bought in Hackman. However this exists somewhere in between. It's far too unrealistic to be compelling drama. There's even a sweaty white guy with a parrot. It's also not action oriented enough to be good mindless popcorn fun. It doesn't work either way.

AaronCapenBanner Ted Kotcheff directed this exciting adventure film that stars Gene Hackman as Marine Col. Jason Rhodes, who has become frustrated with his own(U.S.) governments refusal to launch a rescue mission into Vietnam to rescue P.O.W.s he believes are still there, including his own son. He is approached by a rich businessman named McGregor(played by Robert Stack) who agrees to finance his own rescue mission which he wants Rhodes to command, since he too has a son who is a P.O.W. Rhodes then recruits some marines(now civilians) to help him on the mission(played by Patrick Swayze, Tim Thomerson, Randal 'Tex' Cobb, Fred Ward, & Reb Brown) First they must train and prepare, then launch the rescue mission, which is quite dangerous for many reasons... Rousing film with a good cast and interesting premise(which would be re-used many times later!) A bit far-fetched perhaps, but good fun.

ramsfan Capitalizing on the strong emotions Americans held towards the Vietnam War, filmmakers in the 80's produced dozens of films ranging from well-done to disastrous. Uncommon Valor, while certainly not depicting the "real" war experience with anywhere near 100% accuracy, rises above the average shoot-em-up flick made during this time. It does so with an honorable storyline, good characterizations and pretty good acting given the subject matter.Gene Hackman plays a former Army Colonel whose son is among those who served in Vietnam and is now missing in action. Determined to learn his fate and bankrolled by a wealthy businessman (Robert Stack) whose own son is among the missing, Hackman reaches out to members of his old unit when he receives photographic evidence that some of these MIA are alive and being held captive in Laos. We see each of these ex-soldiers in their current lives- some living conventionally, while others are unfulfilled and tortured from memories of the past. Tex Cobb, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson and Patrick Swayze each provide entertaining and believable characters representing the men who will spearhead this rescue. Hackman meticulously trains the soldiers at a facility authentically resembling the POW Camp they must raid. The final third of the movie depicts the rescue and both the elation and heartbreak that follow.Throughout the movie, we see these soldiers as human beings rather than cardboard cut-outs used to advance the plot. It allows us to like them, feel for them, root for them and ultimately feel sadness when fate intervenes. Because of this, Uncommon Valor shines above the many comic-book movies of this genre which offer little more than a high body count.Gene Hackman, an excellent actor if there ever was one, does a nice job conveying the nobility of the mission- and ultimate heartbreak when we learn the fate of his son. He receives good support from the other cast members who believably portray hardened soldiers whose vulnerability and moments of tenderness shine through. Tex Cobb- a guy not known for his acting chops- has a memorable, touching scene when rescuing a young man reluctant to leave the garden he's tended for years ("We'll take the garden with us").While the notion of unaccounted for POW's was never proved with any degree of certainty, Uncommon Valor is an entertaining movie and a respectful nod to those who had loved ones serve in 'Nam and not come home.

DragStrip First of all it has to be conceded that this film has a very "macho" 80s/Reagan era view of war. Most Vietnamese characters are cannon fodder whose deaths have little or no impact, while American characters are granted either tragic or glorious deaths. But if you can tolerate, ignore or (to be fair) enjoy this aspect of the film, you will find a very moving look at people dealing with the idea of their friends and family never coming home and/or being forced to live as Prisoners of War. This is the main thing which separates this from other POW rescue fantasies (along with a certain, though modest, degree of realism). The most touching scene is at the start of the film, with Hackman pondering over the whereabouts of his son, but there are also some very poignant moments at the end of the film. "Uncommon Valor" is also worth watching for a memorable cast including one of Patrick Swayze's earliest and best performances. Hackman is, as usual, excellent.