DramaThrillerMysteryWar

Courage Under Fire

- A medal for honor. A search for justice. A battle for truth.

A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At first all seems in order. But then he begins to notice inconsistencies between the testimonies of the witnesses...

Release Date : 1996-07-04

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Davis EntertainmentFox 2000 PicturesJoseph M. Singer Entertainment20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling

Original Name : Denzel Washington

Gender : Male

Character Name : Captain Karen Emma Walden

Original Name : Meg Ryan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Staff Sergeant John Monfriez

Original Name : Lou Diamond Phillips

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ilario

Original Name : Matt Damon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brigadier General Hershberg

Original Name : Michael Moriarty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maria

Original Name : Michole Briana White

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bruno

Original Name : Bronson Pinchot

Gender : Male

Character Name : Annie

Original Name : Amy Hathaway

Gender : Female

Character Name : Louise Boylar

Original Name : Diane Baker

Gender : Female

Character Name : Stephen Altameyer

Original Name : Seth Gilliam

Gender : Male

Character Name : Meredith Serling

Original Name : Regina Taylor

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gartner

Original Name : Scott Glenn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Patella

Original Name : Sean Astin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Thompson

Original Name : Sean Patrick Thomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Banacek

Original Name : Zeljko Ivanek

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rady

Original Name : Tim Guinee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boylar

Original Name : Tim Ransom

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chelli

Original Name : Ned Vaughn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jenkins

Original Name : Manny Perez

Gender : Male

Character Name : Egan

Original Name : David McSwain

Gender : Male

Character Name : Radio operator

Original Name : Korey Coleman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Robins

Original Name : Armand Darrius

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bobcat 5

Original Name : Mark Adair-Rios

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joel Walden

Original Name : Ken Jenkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Geraldine Walden

Original Name : Kathleen Widdoes

Gender : Female

Character Name : Tank Commander (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Brent Lappin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coffee Sergeant

Original Name : Jack Watkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tanker (uncredited)

Original Name : Benjamin Bryant

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-08-27

What makes this film stand out (a little) is the intimate style of photography. The POV camerawork gives us a proximity to the story and characters that we rarely see. Sadly, though, the story itself is a little bit thin. Denzel Washington is tasked with investigating the worthiness of a deceased helicopter pilot during the Gulf war to receive the medal of honor. Assuming it would be a routine ratification, he interviews her crew only to find discrepancies and inconstancies that cast a shadow over the whole procedure. Had this just been a routine wartime tale, then it might have been ok - but the fact that it is based around a real wartime scenario, and married together with that sickly trumpet-based pseudo-military score and an annoyingly "Semper Fi" sort of mentality, the whole thing just sinks down into a mire of absurdity and sentimentality. Neither Denzel Washington nor Meg Ryan really have the weight to give this film any bite, oomph - or, for that matter, plausibility. Matt Damon makes some impact but I couldn't quite decide whether that was because he was good, or because it was interesting to see him before stardom set it in - but either way, this is pretty much devoid of action, and the dialogue could have been written by the US Army recruitment office. They all look great in their uniforms, though!