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IMDbPro

Courage Under Fire

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
56K
YOUR RATING
Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (1996)
Theatrical Trailer from Unknown
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
45 Photos
ActionDramaMystery
A U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.A U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.A U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
56K
YOUR RATING
    • Edward Zwick
    • Patrick Sheane Duncan
  • Stars
    • Denzel Washington
    • Meg Ryan
    • Lou Diamond Phillips
    • Edward Zwick
    • Patrick Sheane Duncan
  • Stars
    • Denzel Washington
    • Meg Ryan
    • Lou Diamond Phillips
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 126User reviews
    • 63Critic reviews
    • 77Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Courage Under Fire
    Trailer 2:21
    Watch Courage Under Fire

    Photos45

    Meg Ryan and Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Meg Ryan in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Meg Ryan in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Denzel Washington and Michael Moriarty in Courage Under Fire (1996)
    Denzel Washington in Courage Under Fire (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Denzel Washington
    Denzel Washington
    • Nat Serling
    Meg Ryan
    Meg Ryan
    • Karen Walden
    Lou Diamond Phillips
    Lou Diamond Phillips
    • Monfriez
    Michael Moriarty
    Michael Moriarty
    • General Hershberg
    Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    • Ilario
    Bronson Pinchot
    Bronson Pinchot
    • Bruno
    Seth Gilliam
    Seth Gilliam
    • Altameyer
    Regina Taylor
    Regina Taylor
    • Meredith Serling
    Zeljko Ivanek
    Zeljko Ivanek
    • Banacek
    Scott Glenn
    Scott Glenn
    • Gartner
    Tim Guinee
    Tim Guinee
    • Rady
    Tim Ransom
    Tim Ransom
    • Boylar
    Sean Astin
    Sean Astin
    • Patella
    Armand Darrius
    • Robins
    Mark Adair-Rios
    Mark Adair-Rios
    • Bobcat 5
    • (as Mark Adair-Riós)
    Ned Vaughn
    Ned Vaughn
    • Chelli
    Manny Perez
    Manny Perez
    • Jenkins
    David McSwain
    • Egan
      • Edward Zwick
      • Patrick Sheane Duncan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In order to lose the required amount of weight for the present-day scenes, Matt Damon went on a strict regimen of food deprivation and physical training. This caused his health to become so frail that he was put on medical supervision for several months after the shoot. However, his efforts didn't go unnoticed: director Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed by Damon's display of method acting that he offered him the leading role in The Rainmaker (1997). While making Good Will Hunting (1997), after regaining his healthy weight, Damon met Steven Spielberg (who was then casting Saving Private Ryan (1998)). Spielberg told Damon that he had loved his performance in this movie and had wanted to hire him to play Private Ryan, but was afraid that Damon was too skinny. Once Spielberg saw Damon at his normal weight, he hired him for Ryan.
    • Goofs
      The Medal of Honor is never placed around the neck of anyone but the recipient of the award.
    • Quotes

      Nathaniel Serling: I work at the Pentagon, Sergeant, so I'll admit I'm a little slow on the uptake, otherwise I'd say that you just threatened me. Did you just threaten me, soldier? Because if you did, let me respond to you...

      [turns off tape recorder]

      Nathaniel Serling: Let me respond to you this way. I'm an officer, and therefore, by proclamation, a gentleman, but don't abuse that, son. Don't get in my crosshairs, because I'll have no compunction whatsoever about getting up to my neck in yo' ass. Do you understand me?

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Independence Day/Special Effects/Phenomenon (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      Angel from Montgomery
      Written by John Prine

    User reviews126

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    An average 'he said, she said' drama that has a better list of names involved than it deserved
    Nat Serling returns from the Gulf war having been involved in a friendly fire incident. Even though he is cleared, he still carries the guilt but is looked after by the army and helped into a comfortable job in the Pentagon. He is assigned to assess the nomination of Captain Karen Walden for the medal of honour – an seemingly open and shut case that everyone wants to be passed for the public relations opportunity of awarding a woman captain the posthumous medal. However, when Serling starts to investigate he finds some minor differences in the stories and the more he pushes the survivors the more the story starts to fall apart. Despite the pressure from his superiors, Serling continues to dig for the truth.

    Looking back at this film now it is perhaps a little frustrating how little it seems to critically analysis the issues behind war and politics and instead just plays it as a straight thriller with the Gulf only serving as a background and not as subtext. With this aspect put to one side the film just about manages to work as a thriller but not a particularly good one. The plot is very much 'he said, she said' stuff and it is not as dramatic as it would like to think it is. The film tries to inject pace into it with a series of extreme actions by the characters and the excitement of the battle sequences but really it doesn't amount to a terrible lot. The subplot over Serling's incident never really feels relevant and was either tacked on or badly handled to the point that it seemed tacked on. Either way the plot is not as involving as it really should have been – it does OK enough to make it worth watching once but it's no great shakes.

    The cast is impressive though and contains many stars as well as faces that have become a lot more famous since this. Washington is troubled and interesting, even if he has to occasionally switch on the worry on request. He is a good leading man and has good presence; his delivery goes part of the way to helping inject a bit of urgency into some of the scenes in this rather talky film. Ryan was a strange choice but I suppose she was desperate to have something to show her range. While it is easy to dismiss her performance, she is OK but it would have been a lot better if her performance had changed more that it did between the few accounts – but I guess her range is not as wide as she would like to think it is. Outside of these two the main players are those in Walden's crew; Damon looks very young and does OK, Phillips is physically impressive but his character is difficult to totally swallow and Gilliam is a lot more understated than he was in Oz. The rest of the cast is populated by a large number of well-known faces including Taylor, Ivanek, Pinchot, Astin, Glenn, Thomas, McGill, Hall and Jenkins. Few of them have anything to do but their presence was rarely a distraction to me although I can imagine some viewers might be put off by the 'where do I know him from' factor.

    Overall this is an average drama that is talky and relies on the actors to try and inject into a plot that is really just about the different characters trying to cover their own backs. The cast are mostly good but Ryan's reach exceeds her grasp and they are mostly let down by average material. Worth a watch once for what it is but I can't imagine too many viewers will be returning for a second look.
    helpful•13
    11
    • bob the moo
    • Aug 23, 2004

    FAQ1

    • Why does the term "A Medal for Honour" with the British spelling of "Honour" appear next to Meg Ryan's face?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 12, 1996 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Fox 2000 Pictures
      • Davis Entertainment
      • Joseph M. Singer Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 56 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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