X
- 1988
- R
- TriStar Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 1988
- R
- TriStar Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
Summary During the Vietnam War, Colonel Hambleton's (Gene Hackman) aircraft is shot down over enemy territory and a frantic rescue operation ensues.
Directed By: Peter Markle
Written By: William C. Anderson, George Gordon
- 1988
- R
- TriStar Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 1988
- R
- TriStar Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
Bat*21
58
7.2
Summary During the Vietnam War, Colonel Hambleton's (Gene Hackman) aircraft is shot down over enemy territory and a frantic rescue operation ensues.
Directed By: Peter Markle
Written By: William C. Anderson, George Gordon
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
58
38% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
46% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
15% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
58
38% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
46% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
15% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
It's hard to imagine what the film might have been with anyone other than Mr. Hackman in this role, for this actor's quintessential decency and ordinariness have never seemed more affecting. It's precisely the lack of bravado in Hambleton that makes him an interesting character, and a poignant anti-Rambo.
Director Peter Markle, whose credits include TV documentaries and commercials as well as "Young Blood," has taken pains to make this a craftsmanlike production, shot in Malaysia, full of laborious attention to detail and enterprising stunt flying. Regrettably, the script doesn`t fly quite as smoothly.
What we have here is a solid war story with excellent performances, but a largely superficial look at Vietnam's atrocities. If Bat 21 says anything, it's that Hollywood is reluctant to release any more pure-action Vietnam pictures. However thin, there must be some message to the madness. [21 Oct 1988, p.E8]
Indeed, there's so much cutting between Hackman on the ground and Glover in the sky, the overwhelming feeling at the end of Bat 21 is relief that the viewer was able to get through the ordeal without a dose of Dramamine. [21 Oct 1988, p.6]
Hackman turns in his usual solid performance, and Glover is strong as the pilot who develops a deep empathy for the officer, although the device of having the men interact almost entirely by radio limits development of their relationship.
Certain scenes achieve a genuine tension, as when Hackman has to watch a captured chopper pilot sent into a waterlogged minefield by NVA soldiers; but this is immediately undercut by a retaliatory bombing raid that destroys a camouflaged NVA hideout, regardless of civilian casualties. Like the film as a whole, such scenes elicit sympathy more for the tacitly guilty Hackman than for the innocent victims.
Well-acted but otherwise conventional war hokum.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
60% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 User Ratings
7.2
60% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
TriStar Pictures,
Vision PDG,
Eagle Films,
Bat 21 Limited L.P.
Release Date Oct 21, 1988
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating R
Tagline Trapped behind enemy lines. A whole army after him... And only one man can save him.
Awards
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Nomination
