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Rescue Dawn
- In theaters July 13th
- Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense war
violence and torture
- Run Time : 126Min
- 5 out of 5
Don't forget to check out Jennifer's Netflix
pick
of
the week.
Review by Jennifer Pflughaupt for The Mungles on
Movies
"Rescue Dawn" takes place during the Vietnam War
when objectives were blurred and missions were
numerous for American soldiers. Dieter Dengler
(Christian Bale), a U.S. Navy fighter pilot, was on his
first mission ever when he was shot down behind
enemy lines in the hot jungles of Laos. Survival was
rare in this part of the world with charlies everywhere,
who happened to eventually capture Dengler as
well. "Rescue Dawn" takes you on the amazing true
story of Dieter's survival and escape from the POW
camp he was held at and the relationships he gained
with fellow prisoners in the bamboo cell.
Christian Bale has become one of the finest actors of
this generation. His dedication to the craft always
seems to go above and beyond. After seeing him in
many stellar roles such as "American
Psycho", "Batman Begins", and "The Machinist", I have
come to appreciate what the human body can do.
In "The Machinist", Bale had lost a ton of weight (he
weighed less than 130lbs at over 6 feet tall) making
him look like a walking skeleton. (Bewilderingly, the
next film he did was "Batman Begins".) In
contrast, "Rescue Dawn" displays the downward
spiral and deterioration of the human body when Bale
gets shot down and becomes a POW. You can
literally see his transformation in front of your own
eyes as he is starving in the jungles of Laos, resorting
to eating worms and snakes. It is quite stunning.
Bale was not the only one in this film to amaze me
either. The supporting cast is phenomenal, truly
contributing to the plot instead of becoming props for
the main character. Gene, who is played by an
unrecognizable Jeremy Davies ("Helter
Skelter", "Saving Private Ryan"), is a kooky, delusional
POW that looks like a walking skeleton himself. Steve
Zahn ("Employee of the Month", "Sahara") gives an
outstanding performance as he steps out of the
comedic role box and into a serious, dramatic
semblance.
Many films that approach the subject of war have a
tendency of becoming too politically charged and do
not stay true to the character's story. "Rescue Dawn"
shies away from that. Despite the sometimes graphic
content, "Rescue Dawn" is a patriotic and moving film
about soldiers and war. It succeeds without
manifesting the filmmaker's political agenda through
the characters on screen. I give "Rescue Dawn" 5 out
of 5 shoe soles.
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Jennifer is a full-time student at the University of North
Texas and proudly serves the country as a Reserves
in the U.S. Air Force. She has a passion for film and
writing and so The Mungles on Movies have been a
perfect fit! She lives in north Dallas with her rock-star
husband of 7 years, Sean, and her 3 year old daughter
and reason for joy, Isabella. Don't forget to check out
Jen's Netflix Picks every week!
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