And the other actors take their cue from that as well. There is a depth in his performance which one can easily gloss over, but if you watch him in the little moments, there’s some power there. I mean, putting Hackman in the lead of what looks like a basic action film, he adds layers to it. Watching it now is a different experience, and man, as far as I’m concerned – good flick, and one that started an action subgenre. All of this innate Hornerism is to be found and savoured in his score for Uncommon Valor, in which elements that would later go into 48 Hrs, Commando, Aliens and The Rocketeer positively shine right alongside some dazzlingly new exotic sounds that would evoke the atmosphere of Vietnam and a campaign that will never fully go away. Like a lot of the stuff I’m watching right now, I hadn’t seen this one in years, in fact I may not have seen it since the 80s – at which point I was just a tween/teen digging an action movie. Kotcheff keeps the story moving along, injecting a sense of humour where needed, while still reminding us of what exactly these men are doing. The words, Uncommon Valor Was a Common Trait is inscribed at the base of the statue. Hackman brings a gravitas to the subject matter, one that it deserves as he plans and executes one last mission, laying lives on the line. The monument is dedicated to every Marine who has died in combat since Nov. The Korean vet reaches out to Vietnam vets, some who served in the same unit, chopper pilots, and he throws the team together, training them, getting them back into fighting shape with the help of a rookie, Scott (Swayze) who’s never seen combat.Įverything seems to be against them, including, on occasion, each other, but they work, train, and prepare for the mission of their lives – to bring back those that were left behind, and forgotten by their country. It costs him his career, his connections, and in the end, he does the only thing left – he does it himself. Gene Hackman plays Colonel Rhodes, who, since 1973, has been trying to get someone, anyone to help him get POWs out of Vietnam, including his son Frank. Underneath it, in some of the dialogue, some of the moments, and character beats you can sense a frustration, an anger, about the way those who served treated, for their service, for their actions, and for their return home, as well as those who didn’t and never could. On its surface, the film plays like a solidly put together action flick. Before Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone did it, while it was still a bit of a taboo subject for American society, Gene Hackman, to the strains of a James Horner score gathered to him Robert Stack, Patrick Swayze, Harold Sylvester, Fred Ward, Tim Thomerson, Randall Cobb, Reb Brown and Kwan Hi Lim to his side, and headed to Vietnam (Hawaii) to rescue MIAs and POWs.