Under Heavy Fire (2001)
WMB Rating:
(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) 
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Take five Vietnam Marine Corps vets involved in a sketchy incident which left several members of their squad dead, and take them *back* to the scene of the crime some years later. Forcing them to relive the incident and pretty much everything else that they went through. That’s what Under Heavy Fire is all about.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. This movie pretty much embodies that sentiment. What could be an absolutely stellar story is, quite frankly ruined by writing and casting, and unfortunately, acting.
Casper Van Diem seems to reprise his usual McGruff role here as the Captain of the unit, and the supposed criminal, Ramsey. But he’s pretty much a caricature of your stereotypical “jarhead”, with his chain-smoking (but still able to take off on a long brisk jog, um, no.), rough demeanor, and barking orders in his captain’s voice after all this time. Once a Marine always a Marine? Maybe, but I wouldn’t think so after being court-martialed….
The rest of the bunch also seem to be intended as “archetypes” if you will, maybe to represent a cross section of what might happen to a typical group of vets. The priest, the scholar, the used-car salesman, the redneck…. Instead they’re merely stereotypes. Throw in a semi-attractive female who’s supposed to be coordinating this reunion for a video piece (with the obligatory and pointless romantic interlude) and the train is well on its way to derailing.
Which it does, of course, at the end. They return to the scene of the crime and the flashbacks ensue, the real culprit is revealed, blood and tears are shed, and everyone parts ways with a renewed respect and admiration for each other.
Along the way they visit various other sites and people they encountered during their time in the Nam. Now, these scenes of confrontation and redemption could have really moved things along, and in a few places they did, but the execution just isn’t there.
When this was over, I was left feeling that this *could* have been an excellent movie. Like I said the intention is there, the core story and emotion is there. In some places it actually works, and works well, But the overall execution just killed it. If it hadn’t been for the absolute cheddar about-face-and-salute moment at the end I might have even rated this higher. The not-so-good bits smother the good bits, and its really too bad.
I couldn’t find a trailer, or a clip, but the entire thing appears to be available on YouTube. I won’t link to it, but you should be able to find it easy enough.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243278/
Amazon: Under Heavy Fire
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