Based on the true story of the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, by the United States army, in Iraq.Based on the true story of the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, by the United States army, in Iraq.Based on the true story of the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, by the United States army, in Iraq.
IMDb RATING
4.1/10
502
YOUR RATING
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Dak Rasheta
- Sgt. James Riley
- (as Dak Rashetta)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAt around 21:06, after two soldiers jump on board Lynch's Humvee and they drive away, you can hear Lynch cry, "What about Donald!" She is referencing Sgt. Donald Walters. The film shows that the truck he was is disabled and he jumps out. While under fire he tell the others to go and he'll cover them. This is the only time in the film that Sgt. Walters is seen and referenced until the very end where, in memorial, he's listed with his comrades as killed in action.
This is crucial for two reasons: Sgt Walters was one of the few in the 507th that had combat experience. During the First Gulf War he guarded Iraqi prisoners as Military Police. During the ambush, the truck he was riding in, driven by PV2 Sloan, was disabled and the two bailed. PV2 Sloan was picked up by another truck while Sgt. Walters gave fire to the Iraqis. The last reported member to see Sgt. Walters alive was PFC Miller, who claimed he saw Sgt. Walters talking to 1st Sgt. Dowdy at his Humvee. For some unknown reason, as the convoy turned around and made its run back into the city, Sgt. Walters was left behind. He ran after the convoy. It wasn't long before the Iraqis found this lonely soldier and converged on him. Intercepted Iraqi communications said that there was a single, blonde haired, soldier that was alone and fighting tenaciously.
Sgt. Walters was shot and taken prisoner only after he had run out of ammunition. He was taken by several Fedayeen members to an abandoned army headquarters near where the convoy made its first U-turn. An Iraqi ambulance driver later claimed to have seen Sgt. Walters surrounded by six Fedayeen and was led inside inside the building. Later on, the same ambulance driver picked up and delivered Sgt. Walters's body to the same hospital Lynch was being held in. His body had at least two gunshot wounds, several stab wounds and a dislocated shoulder. He was buried along with his fallen comrades. Since no American saw his death, the only information on his fate stemmed from Iraqi testimony and forensic investigation, it's unknown if the wounds inflicted upon him occurred during or after his capture with the exception one gunshot wound to his back. According to DNA analysis found at the scene, Sgt. Walters was executed in the building after being tortured for some time, ranging from a few hours to a day or two.
It's believed that the intercepted Iraqi communications were not properly translated, that the pronouns 'he' was mixed with 'she' and that a blonde haired soldier was fighting. This led to the idea that PFC Jessica Lynch, also blonde, was the fighter they were talking about, when it was actually Sgt. Walters, who was also blonde. This discrepancy was not cleared until about a year after the event.
For his bravery and sacrifice, Sgt. Walters's family was bestowed their son's Silver Star Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, and Purple Heart.
- GoofsWhen the convoy is driving through Nasiriyah just before they are attacked, Reunion Tower (a major feature of Dallas' downtown skyline) is clearly visible in the background.
- Quotes
Pfc Jessica Lynch: Two years, Dad. It'll be over before you know it.
Featured review
Well done, glad I watched it
Saving Jessica Lynch: a first-impressions review
Thumbs up.
I thought this was a good movie. It did not romanticize or heroicize Pfc. Lynch or what she endured. NBC didn't make her a female Rambo. The movie spent a lot of time showing what her Iraqi co-rescuer, Mohammed al-Rehaief, risked to tell the Americans about her confinement.
The Nasariyeh battle sequence was well done. My only complaint would be showing the fedayeen just standing in the middle of the street, hip shooting their AK-47s. That's a good way to (a) get killed, as a fair number of them did and (b) shoot the sky, not your targets. But for all know, the fedayeen there really did that. Heck, in Baghdad they charged Abrams tanks with pickup trucks, so their open-battle skills seem not to have been very great.
There was a lot of action about the firefight what wasn't presented, of course, but the movie was not about the whole battle. It tracked Lynch and those involved directly with her.
It was good to see the American military officers and enlisted members portrayed with decency and humanity. The Iraqi medical staff were sympathetically presented, which accords with what I recall was written about them once Nasiriyah was secured and western media moved in. The fedayeen leader was something of a caricature, but on the other hand, when you portray Nazis or those like them, can you really overplay their evil?
The sequence when the SOF uncovered the American bodies from the sand with their hands could have easily been overplayed. But it was understated and evocative without being maudlin.
All in all, this movie was a worthy presentation for Veterans Day weekend. Kudos to NBC.
PS - I am a retired US Army artillery officer.
Thumbs up.
I thought this was a good movie. It did not romanticize or heroicize Pfc. Lynch or what she endured. NBC didn't make her a female Rambo. The movie spent a lot of time showing what her Iraqi co-rescuer, Mohammed al-Rehaief, risked to tell the Americans about her confinement.
The Nasariyeh battle sequence was well done. My only complaint would be showing the fedayeen just standing in the middle of the street, hip shooting their AK-47s. That's a good way to (a) get killed, as a fair number of them did and (b) shoot the sky, not your targets. But for all know, the fedayeen there really did that. Heck, in Baghdad they charged Abrams tanks with pickup trucks, so their open-battle skills seem not to have been very great.
There was a lot of action about the firefight what wasn't presented, of course, but the movie was not about the whole battle. It tracked Lynch and those involved directly with her.
It was good to see the American military officers and enlisted members portrayed with decency and humanity. The Iraqi medical staff were sympathetically presented, which accords with what I recall was written about them once Nasiriyah was secured and western media moved in. The fedayeen leader was something of a caricature, but on the other hand, when you portray Nazis or those like them, can you really overplay their evil?
The sequence when the SOF uncovered the American bodies from the sand with their hands could have easily been overplayed. But it was understated and evocative without being maudlin.
All in all, this movie was a worthy presentation for Veterans Day weekend. Kudos to NBC.
PS - I am a retired US Army artillery officer.
helpful•27
- dsensing
- Nov 9, 2003
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