This blog post movie review is dedicated in loving memory of American actor, Peter Fonda (1940-2019).
I’ve been looking for this movie, because of this. I was 5 years old when I saw Peter Fonda in “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” as my very first. “Easy Rider” and “Escape from L.A” weren’t my cup of coffees, but when I saw him in “Ghost Rider” once at age 12, he did a great job as the devil who cursed Johnny Blaze to be the flaming Ghost Rider. I haven’t seen “Ulee’s Gold” yet, but I was 24 years old when he died of respiratory failure caused by lung cancer. I felt bad for him when he kicked the bucket at age 79. However, just before that happened, I was glad that this is the final movie, of his career that he had ever did. In fact, they had this movie dedicated to him.
Joining him are Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson, John Savage, Dale Dye, Jeremy Irvine, Sebastian Stan, and William Hurt since he was that mad scientist who made a ton of robot kids in “A.I.- Artificial Intelligence”, in which was a very bad idea.
On April 11th-12th, 1966 during the Vietnam War, a U.S. search and destroy regiment got into the Battle of Xa Cam My. Near a village, deep in the jungles of Vietnam. The Viet Cong tore a platoon to pieces, as they were pinned down. 36 American soldiers were killed, and 80 Viet Cong soldiers were killed. By facing heavy fire from the Viet Cong on the American soldiers, USAF staff sergeant Pararescueman William H. Pistenbarger came in to rescue them. He rescued over 60 men in that battle, since Desmond Doss rescued 75 wounded soldiers over Hacksaw Ridge, in the Battle of Okinawa, during the Second World War against Japan.
Just when the mission was done, and the Viet Cong claimed a victory, Pistenbarger after pulling the last men out that battle, was shot by the Viet Cong’s deadly snipers. And was at age 21 when he was K.I.A on that day. He did not escape alive. He took one right to the head. In addition, he was as dead as Lt. John Kipling. Rudyard Kipling’s only son who participated in the First World War, way before Pistenbarger came along. And was K.I.A at a young age in the Battle of Loos, on October 5th, 1915. They found Pitsenbarger’s body the next day, and was taken back to the United States, in his hometown of Piqua, Ohio. He was buried at Miami Memorial Park Cemetery in Covington, Ohio. His grave can be found in plot 43-D, grave #2. When his friends, parents and girlfriend have heard about it, they were very quiet as they never slept or ate.
Almost 35 years later, from September 19th, 1999 to December 8th, 2000. While kids including me at that time were addicted a lot of anime mostly, some cartoons too, and to movies like “Pokémon: The First Movie”, “Pokémon the Movie 2000”, “Chicken Run”, “Thomas and the Magic Railroad”, “The Nuttiest Nutcracker”, “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut”, “Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie”, “Digimon: The Movie”, “Galaxy Quest” and “Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns”, as well as Roger Ebert doing his movie reviews, to those that came out in movie theatres, the Pentagon send a staffer to deal with Pistenbarger’s parents. And to deal with Vietnam War veterans that knew him. Cause for what he did in that battle, to rescue those soldiers, made him won some awards such as two Purple Hearts, and the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had to give them to his parents before Pitsenbarger’s father passed away by cancer. As dead as Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard. His friends as veterans were not only suffering from PTSD, and the horrors of that battle, one of them as an old man would sleep in his bed all day, and be awake all night like a vampire. From dusk until dawn.
Jeremy Irvine was Pistenbarger, Sebastian Stan was the staffer, and the rest were the Vietnam War veterans that knew him including Peter Fonda himself. In fact, he was the one who would sleep in all day, and be awake at night from dusk til dawn.
It was definitely Peter Fonda’s finest hour, in his final movie role. And besides, no one had seen John Savage and Dale Dye in years since “Platoon”, “Casualties of War”, “The Deer Hunter”, “Hair”, “Under Siege”, “The Great Raid”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers” with Damian Lewis, and “The Thin Red Line”. Dale Dye was in most of these that I have mentioned, while John Savage was only two good popular ones.
By looking at that battle for what happened, was mostly seen in flashback in this movie, as we shift to how that staffer was dealing with people, before giving Pistenbarger’s parents those medals including the Medal of Honor.
So for a success, 8.4/10 stars is what I give. The best part was that one of the Vietnam War veterans which is John Savage, showed how life is beautiful in Southeast Asia. You can tell by looking at the butterflies, as how he had a garden that will let go of the bad memories that has ever haunted you. It made Sebastian Stan’s character really emotional when he had let go of the memories that haunted him. What about Dale Dye? He spoke of the truth very wisely since Jack Nicholson in ‘You Can’t Handle the Truth’ scene in “A Few Good Men”.
And I think back at how Peter Fonda was. He not only demonstrated as an actor like his father Henry Fonda, but was a real saint indeed. He would’ve been great in some animated movies like that “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” than for what John Savage and Dale Dye did, when they ended up the same thing as how R. Lee Ermy did. Got into those lousy animated movies from the dark side. Other major movies too, that want to be popular and famous that has Peter Fonda in; despite for what the dark side did back in the year of the new millennium. As I’m sure film critics Gene Siskel, Roget Ebert and their friend Richard Roeper would be very pleased, for what he has ever done like this one and for what he did years earlier. He did met Canadian voice actors Susan Roman, Eddie Glen, and Linda Ballantyne at that time to make them famous, besides Mara Wilson. And like those three that I have mentioned, along with Charlie Sheen, Frankie Muniz, Roy Dupuis and etc, we do need famous celebrities to get back into the Hollywood film business. Big time. Even if people were to hire a very popular voice actor/actress. No matter what the cost may be.
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