Uncommon Valor – Review

Vietnam, 1972: U.S. soldiers run for their lives across a field as Vietnamese soldiers give chase. There are injuries and deaths as choppers swoop in to pick up survivors. As Frank Rhodes (Allen) nears a copter with a wounded man on his back, another heli explodes, prompting the rest to try and take off. Frank does not make it as the birds leave him behind.

Years later, the U.S. wonders if any of these men left behind are still alive, and held as prisoners. The agonizing over the fate of loved ones hits families stateside. Colonel Jason Rhodes (Hackman) has dreams about his missing son Frank as a child, and is haunted.

Five years later and in Bangkok, Jason begins putting together any info he can. There are 2,500 missing soldiers and over 400 live sightings of men held against their will. He gets in contact with some of these witnesses, and looks to get his son’s signature on the back of a photo for proof of life. He pays good money to locals to sneak into the prisoner areas and Laos and get this confirmation.

Unwilling to give up on his boy, he wears through any possible leads for another five years. After getting a possible picture of Americans in a northern Laos prison camp, he puts together a squad of grizzled war veterans. Hoping that his son and the last decade are not lost, he goes to get his boy back while banking on a possible message in a surveillance picture.

Uncommon Valor may be a touch formulaic, but it is not a bad time. The strong lead of Gene Hackman drives the picture as he shows enough emotional drive to get his family back, and has enough gravitas to lead the squad. Ancillary characters are also good and there are decent actors involved.

While it has a bit of cheese, mostly it holds up. Its semi-generic and straight forward story could have had a few more exciting turns, but that’s not what the rescue mission script held. Dialogue, acting and cinematography are fine, and action scenes mostly hit. With some okay ideas, this war adjacent film gives enough reasons for a watch, just don’t expect anything too crazy. I don’t think this was a big hit with critics, but if you are interested you should decide for yourself!