Throughout the late 1970's and much of the 80's, a prevailing theme in Hollywood was the Vietnam War. More specifically, stories dealt with the possibility of POWs still being held and small groups of highly trained men risking their lives to rescue them.

I don't think there's a mystery to this fascination. By all accounts, we lost the war and this is not an easy thing to deal with for a county so used to winning. Adding insult to injury was the sheer number of American soldiers unaccounted for, especially with the possibility that some of them might be alive and imprisoned, unaware the war had ended. It seems almost natural to entertain ideas of going back to "finish the job" and rescue our men.

Uncommon Valor tells the story of Colonel Jason Rhodes (Gene Hackman), who's son was listed as Missing in Action during Vietnam. When official channels fail to give Rhodes answers about his son, he takes matters into his own hands and uncovers evidence that the young soldier is still alive and being held prisoner in Laos. With backing by a wealthy Texas oil man, Rhodes assembles of team to back into Vietnam and rescue his son.

I can't call Uncommon Valor a great movie, because it does have some flaws. For instance, the first half of the movie sets up an elaborate plan to rescue the POWs, complete with the expected training shots of hard work and conflict. Then, when the team arrives in Bangkok to start the mission, the pacing is suddenly jarred by having police confiscate all of the weapons and equipment. This event isn't really explained well enough to make a lot of sense and since the team still more or less carries out the mission according to plan, it just plays like a forced delay in the action rather than a well thought out plot point.

Despite the flaws, the film does work, almost primarily due to the performance of Gene Hackman. He hits almost all of the right notes - a scene of particular subtly is when he explains that all of the men in the Rhodes family have fought for their country. None of them necessarily did anything great, he explains, but they were all there.