User reviews

This movie could have been good to watch on a big screen. The humor is good, the dialogues are fine and the actors never overact. General Partridge (Kelsey Grammer) forgets that the business of war begins with providing good material to the troops. Colonel James Burton (Cary Elwes) knows this and he delivers a speech to the test-company that must make a demonstration of the Bradley troop transporter. The senatorial commission cannot understand that the development costs of the vehicle lasted for 17 years and costed 14 billion dollars. The hearings and questions of that commission provides one of the most humoristic scenes of the movie and are unsurpassed by other political movies.

Anyone who has ever been connected to the military understands the great oxymoron that it is...and probably always will be...but this movie is a classic example of how the military can run amok if it isn't closely monitored...although the humor in this movie does help to make it easier to take...there are a few notable performances that elevate this past the "TV Movie Of The Week" stereotype...Richard Schiff as the put-upon colonel who gets the Bradley project dumped on him 1st, Cary Elwes as the Air Force lieutenant colonel who ends up with the task, Kelsey Grammar as a smug and pompous Army general...all spice up the film and make it better than it should have been...at the end, there is a scene involving the enlisted men on the testing team and Elwes that could be considered semi-sappy...unless you served in the military and understand the relationship between the men and Elwes and how it evolved...then that scene is strikingly important...you will love the part about the sheep...and I can assure you, having been in the Army, yes, this is how Army people talk and act...get this movie, watch this movie, enjoy this movie...it's a nice vacation from today's headlines...and you will roll your eyes at the end...

The Pentagon is trying to field a new armored personnel carrier into production to replace the aging M113. The main objective was a vehicle that could get combat troops into the battle as quickly and safely as possible. So when the design was finally established certain generals decided they wanted the Bradley Armored Personnel Carrier to be able to do additional missions as well. So a larger cannon was added which caused it to be larger. Since it was larger it became more of a target so additional armor was added. But since it had more armor it caused it to be slower and so aluminum replaced steel. And so on. Eventually, rather than having a vehicle that could get soldiers into the field quickly and safely, it became a monstrosity that was actually unsafe for the soldiers. Yet rather than admit these design flaws the decision was made to hurry up production as if getting the project approved was the ultimate symbol of success. At any rate, this film is so funny because this scenario is so close to the truth when it comes to the military industrial complex. Billions of dollars (with a "b") are spent on weapons contracts while soldiers are constantly short-changed on a litany of issues important to them. Be that as it may I thought Kelsey Grammar ("General Partridge") and Cary Elwes ("LTC James Burton) performed in an excellent manner. I also enjoyed the performance of Viola Davis as the loyal sergeant, "SFC Fanning". In short, this is a really good film that I highly recommend for anyone who has ever served or cares to see what goes on behind closed doors. Again, it's closer to the truth than many people realize.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, especially Kelsey Grammar as the unflappable general - always ready with a quick answer and so sincere you want to believe him, despite the utter absurdity of what he is saying. I am not sure whether to treat this movie as comedy or horror - it would be quite amusing as fiction , but I find it rather terrifying to think that it is based on a true story. Is this really how our tax dollars are wasted? As a former member of the military I find it all too easy to believe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it's quite clever and amusing and keeps a good pace. The disturbing thing is there's usually not some crusader to put the brakes on something like this. The movie really fails to deal with the motivations of the people who so unethically push the project through; they must have some rational for their actions, which could result in untold deaths, but we never hear an explanation. So it's not an in depth analysis, and I'd love to see a documentary on the same subject, but it's quite enjoyable.

The story itself--the crazy process whereby a simple request for an improved armored personnel carrier resulted in the ridiculous initial design for the Bradley transport--is one that should be well-known. It is the ultimate cautionary tale about a bureaucracy gone out of control. What is amazing is the light-handed skill with which the story is told--it is funny when it should be, yet sucks you in sufficiently to get you really mad at what is going on. And the casting is superb.

This is an educational film. Clearly i'm not up to date on civic problems. Clearly we've still got big ones. Meanwhile, Richard Benjamin's concise little drama mit schlag shows range of Kelsey Grammer, who is as terrifying a monster here in General's role as you will ever wish to see. Cary Elwes back on the side of truth and justice, for which i'm glad, as he has hero quality. And the women in this film keep it down to earth. There is great music behind titles and credits. Just go with this one. It is pretty amazing.

Richard Benjamin retells "The Pentagon Wars" story with an HBO budget and a mockumentary style in this examination of one of the Pentagon's more embarrassing faux pas; oversight of the R&D of what's come to be known as the Bradley Troop Carrier and Fighting Vehicle. An okay bit of entertainment, this film could have had more bite, a harder edge, and more drama. Nonetheless, it does name names and recounts a true story without too much compromise. Worth a look especially if the viewer knows this flick is not 100% fiction.

Some of the posters couldn't seem to grasp that the comedy was not in the way the movie was scripted but in the acts of many of those responsible for the design of the Bradley. It was a comedy of errors that only two people wanted to correct and were fought tooth and nail, all the way. General Smith put it the most accurately when Lt. Col. Burton asked him to whom the enemy was when he said "To majors who want to be colonels, to colonels who want to be generals, to generals who want that fourth star, you bet we are the enemy! Nobody moves up without getting things done! So what you don't want to be is the one who drops the ball, 'cause if you're the one who drops the ball: no promotion! no star! no cushy job with a contract when you retire!" No one wants to be that person to throw a monkey wrench into the process and all too often, we see our leaders putting their own interest ahead of those whose lives depend on their equipment. The story in the movie about the M-16 rifle was a perfect example.

I'm not American so any sense of disbelief and anger can be tempered by the fact that this is just a movie. But I still find it incredulous that the US military brass can be so short-sighted and inept. Since this is somewhat of a satire, I expect a lot of hyperbole put into this movie. Kelsey Grammer is brilliant as the unflappable and stubborn General forced to protect the interests of the Pentagon. Cary Elwes turns in a creditable performance as the reluctant colonel out to expose the truth. Makes you think if all the militaries around the world are spending taxpayers' money for the right reasons.

This movie gives the long history how a military troop carrier - the Brady - is turned into a monstrosity. I've worked for a government contractor; this is so close to how military contracts and the work it's scary! Not only does it portray the stress between the pentagon and congress as the troop carrier gets turns in to an amphibious, tank, antiaircraft, scoot (read slow moving target with troops in it). It some how makes it funny at he same time! Kelsey Grammer and Cary Elwes are both great comedic actors. Though Kelsey Grammer carries the movie. The only down side to the "Pentagon Wars" is it drags a little in the middle because just so much goes wrong with the Brady program.

"The Pentagon Wars" is a made-for-HBO movie, that was originally broadcast in 1998.

It is based on the account of Colonel James Burton (also the main character, played by Cary Elwes), a former military man who found himself up against a wall of ambition, when tasked with vetting the field effectiveness of the Bradley Military Vehicle.

A number of high ranking and highly influential military minds had already invested their careers, reputations and billions of taxpayer dollars into the Bradley project- with little-to-no results.

What was originally supposed to be a personnel transport device, found itself constantly being redesigned, until it was a hybrid scout/personnel transport/tank that was rather ineffective at carrying out any of the tasks it was meant for. The whole thing ended up too slow to operate as a scouting vehicle, too bulky to carry a significant amount of troops, and too weak to go up against any sort of anti-tank defences.

But too many people had invested too much in this project to admit defeat. So, despite the fact that such a vehicle was absolutely unfit for the field became irrelevant when weighed against the egos and ambitions of those behind the project.

Hence, when Colonel Burton shows up to test the field effectiveness of the machine, he finds it to be lacking, and questions whether it should be put into production.

His investigations reveal that a conspiracy has been undertaken to cover-up the vehicles shortcomings- including fraudulent tests used to determine it's safety and effectiveness in the field.

Instead of just acting as a whistleblower though, he decides he needs to do everything by the book...convincing the soldiers that have been helping carry out the tests to change their ways, as opposed to just leaking the story to an outside media outlet.

Burton does manage to convince congress to initiate an investigation into this $14 billion dollar con that was to see an overweight and overly explosive aluminum can be sent out into combat situations...with soldiers inside.

Despite this, the actions of this unsung hero would force him to resign from the military, while he watched those behind this bloated failure of a project move up the ranks.

This film is both entertaining and educational. While shot to be a comedy, this is a very revealing story, with very serious implications. It goes to show the kind of crap that the Military Industrial Complex is able to pull off, unbeknownst to the public, on a regular basis. And it has a great cast too: with the likes of Kelsey Grammar, John C. McGinley, among others, in supporting roles. This is a film that reveals the American Military's macho posturing for what it really is....posturing. Worth a watch if you are looking for an informative laugh. Would make a nice double-feature with "The Doomsday Gun", another made-for-HBO movie. 6 out 10.

I mean the movie may seem very realistic for the majority of the people watching it, yet it could not stary much further from reality of the development of Bradley.

The Bradley was always designed as an IFV, not as an upgunned APC to name some inaccuracies.

I can't recommend this to be watched by anyone who might actually be interested in the Bradleys development. I can't tell what the producers were thinking, but it would almost seem as propaganda.

James Burton was the madman of the real story, but here they are the hero, since again, this is a piece of propaganda made by the reformers.

1/10.

I find it interesting that this movie is classified as a comedy, granted some of the procedures that Col. Burton is forced to go through are comical. What i find disturbing is this is based on the real true to life development of the bradley fighting vehicle. Not only was it produced at great cost (over 13 billion taxpayer dollars) but after spending that much money it was an unsafe deathtrap for anyone riding in it, unfortunately it was a troop carrier. thankfully we did not have any conflicts requiring the use of the vehicle until most of the defects were fixed. also disturbing is the fact that every officer involved in the development of the bradley was promoted and went on to lucrative defense contracting positions while Col. Burton was forced to leave the Air Force.

In the mid-1980s USAF Lt. Colonel John Burton is tasked with objectively evaluating the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a project that has been in development for 17 years. The vehicle started off from a simple design but, due to Army meddling and Committee-Think, it has morphed into something different, something potentially sub-optimal. In the interests of saving the lives of US servicemen, he is determined to do his job as effectively as possible but the powers-that-be want him to simply rubber-stamp the vehicle so that production can begin.

An entertaining satirical look at an actual historic event, the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The film is based on Colonel Burton's book "The Pentagon Wars" though large liberties have been taken with many of the details. Well, it is a comedy, remember.

The film does capture well the sort of bureaucracy, meddling and Committee-Think that bedevil all organisations, but government ones the most. How the design of the Bradley changes over time due to these factors is hilarious to watch, but quite true to life.

While these barbs are well-aimed some of the lower-level comedy can be quite silly and cheesy at times. While the idea was to poke fun at the military bureaucracy, many of the characters do seem like cartoon villains.

Overall, funny and interesting enough. Just don't take it too seriously.

The American military is perhaps the most bloated organization in the United States. When it is used to fight wars, there is no finer in the world. Unfortunately, when not fighting, the Officers and senior staff are anything but. In this film Director Richard Benjamin takes a realistic look at the brainless system by which the Military waste's taxpayer's money. The weapons they choose are hardly ever chosen for their effectiveness or safety. Indeed, they are neither given a hard, fixed budget which they cannot cross. Instead they are allowed to splurge to their heart's content. This film is a case in point. The military decides to create a new troop carrier. They call it the Bradley Fighting unit. Kelsey Grammar plays Maj. Gen. Partridge a man who couldn't care less what a vehicle costs, so long as it promotes jobs and his career. However, Congress puts Lt. Col. James Burton (Cary Elwes) in charge of making the vehicle safe. Viola Davis, plays Sgt. Fanning Burton's secretary and together they seek to carry out their orders. John C. McGinley and Tom Wright are there to insure that they fail. Richard Schiff plays Gen. Smith who bends over backwards to please Partridge and the brass hats. Richard Benjamin is Secretary of Defense who is ambivalent about the entire project. The movie is a running commentary about how things really go on behind doors. Failure to play the game results in no promotion, recognition or cushy job after military discharge. Fighting a losing battle Col. Burton nevertheless tries to built a safe vehicle and one sympathies with him, but while no one on the hill cares, it is the fighting man in combat who will ultimately pay the price. A must see film for anyone who does give a dam. ****

This film starts with clues that it is to be a comedy....a light piano score that seems to indicate irony, closeups of Grammar's dryly funny testimony done with rosy light and all the settings a bit overly prettified. But yet, nothing particularly funny is happening. When Burton first reports to Partridge, his new high-level boss, there is a quick-moving monologue about the state of the recent projects from Grammar, and the whole thing seems to teeter on a joke about to happen, i.e. a contrasting quip from Burton, or a blow up by Grammar's character, but it never does.

A little farther in, the film slows based on rather pedantic details, and everything discussed is deadly serious, including the plight of whistle-blowers in the military industrial complex. It was all interesting and viable enough to keep me watching, but I found myself wishing I was watching a documentary if this is a true story, OR a more serious docu-drama like the recent telling of the tobacco industry (The Insider), OR a quicker moving, slightly more absurd comedy with satiric bite (which is how the film looks, art-direction wise). That's a wide range of tone that would make it more enjoyable, but somehow the writing and look of this tip-toes between all of that and never commits to any of it.

This is not to say it isn't interesting, but it does mean that a potential for a more important or entertaining movie was missed. The material is smart enough and thorough enough, it hurts to see this pootential wasted by a near-miss.

As a 20-year veteran of the US Air Force, I have a serious pet peeve with ALL military movies - I've watched thousands of military movies over my 73 years - I know these military movies have distinguished high-ranking military advisors - Yet, I'm scandalized by their surprising dereliction of duty - The very first thing all recruits learn in basic training is you NEVER, EVER wear your cover (hat) indoors - Yet, name any military movie you want (from the silent era to present); all of them - ALL!; the military members wear hats indoors - Sure, Hollywood directors have artistic license, but their indoor-hat-wearing preference is over the top egregious - In my 20 years wearing the uniform, I wouldn't get 3 steps inside a building before someone would yell, "Remove that cover!" - Moreover, there is no saluting indoors - The only exception is when one is formally reporting to his/her commander - OK, now that this is off my chest, the movie's jargon and intensity of swearing is authentic - And the service in-fighting is well represented.

Members of the Pentagon brass takes a direct hit in this witty Richard Benjamin satire about the efforts of a whistle-blower(Cary Elwes) to test a defective Bradley troop transport/combat vehicle. Kelsey Grammer plays Major General Partridge a wordy, self serving horse's ass. Mocking humor. Supporting cast includes:John C. McGinley, Viola Davis, Tom Wright and director Benjamin plays Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger.

i first saw this movie well before coming into the military, and while i found it very entertaining, didn't fully appreciate it. having now been 3 years in, i can very much appreciate the humor of this fantastic satire. granted, there is a fair amount of hyperbole, and no, not everyone in the military is so very inept... but simply put, a few years working with military intellegence elevates my view of this film quite a bit.