Rescue Dawn (2007) 8/10

Rescue Dawn is another film starring Christan Bale that slipped through the cracks, and shouldn't have.

The film, directed by Werner Herzog, stars Bale as a navy pilot shot down during a top secret mission in Vietnam in 1965. He is captured and put into a POW camp where he meets other pow's and plans an escape.

The film wastes no time setting up the plot, within the first 12 minutes Bale is already on the ground running from the VC. Within 30 he's imprisoned. The film moves at a quick pace and is thoroughly engaging as we get to know each character and understand the savagery the men have to endure. For a film that's 2+hours long, that's quite a statement.

For a war film there is relatively little violence, the film actually received a PG-13 rating. The emphasis is more on the prisoners themselves and how they can escape rather then focusing on the torture itself. The film also sidesteps the obvious political agenda that could have been thrust upon the audience. The whole film tries to be as historically accurate as possible, the story being based on a true event, and never treads into preachy pro or anti war agendas. This is simply a very well told survival tale that takes place during a war.

I highly recommend Rescue Dawn to any war film fan as this does not tread on waters already traveled by other films. The film has a reason to exist and does not borrow from any more popular war movies. Check it out.

Overall - 8/10