Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is less a war movie than it is the story of one man coming to terms with the realities and the human cost of war that he had been largely shielded from. That one man is Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman). Hambleton is a soldier who "directs" war but doesn't really "fight" it. When possible, he's on a golf course, perfecting his already excellent game. When necessary, he's generally either behind a desk or high up in the sky, where the effect of bombs and missiles aren't obvious. But one day, flying a mission over North Vietnam, Hambleton's plane is brought down and he finds himself behind enemy lines, waiting desperately to be rescued. His primary lifeline to the outside is reconnaissance pilot Bird-Dog (Danny Glover). Bird Dog isn't really happy to be directing the rescue mission. He's tired and he's resentful of this guy who might cost a lot of lives to get out. As a war movie, this is pretty standard, with nothing much to differentiate it from any other war movie. It's Hambleton and Bird Dog - and their growing relationship over radio - that make this movie move forward. Hambleton is the more interesting of the two. For a guy who's spent his entire adult life in the military, he has little experience of war and its impact. As he tries to get to a rescue point, he discovers the cost of war. He encounters a civilian and has to kill him or be killed, and then, having done the deed, he encounters the man's three sons as he dashes away. He encounters a young boy who does him a kindness and saves his life. He watches helplessly as, in an attempt to rescue him, the US Air Force bombs a village that still has many civilians in it - "women and children" as he cries over the radio to the pilots. He learns that war isn't anonymous, it isn't clean, it isn't sanitary and it has a huge cost beyond just those who fight it. Hambleton's change of ethical perspective is subtle but real, and well portrayed by Hackman.Bird Dog was less central to the story, but he also changes. Resentful of Hambleton and the risks and costs involved in rescuing him at first, he develops a compassion for Hambleton and becomes committed to getting him out at whatever cost - even defying orders and stealing a helicopter to get the job done. This transformation, as Bird Dog changes from seeing Hambleton as a mission to a person and then even as a friend, is also very real, and also well portrayed by Glover.So the movie has two fine acting performances from the leads, and an interesting depiction of two people struggling with pre-conceived notions and a lifetime of experiences and being changed. As a war movie it's not especially noteworthy, and it takes some dramatic license with the true story on which it's based, of course, but it's an excellent human story. (7/10)

I bought this 80's Vietnam movie ('based on a true story') in the $4.99 bin at the grocery store, staring Gene Hackman as a missile intelligence Lt. Col. and Danny Glover as a reconnaissance pilot. The main story is that Hackmann gets shot down in enemy land and has to try to survive on the VC infested ground until the choppers can pick him up, something as a mere war 'strategist' behind the front lines he's never has to do before. The whole movie is basically him in radio contact with the pilot Glover and their emotional-moral dialog...think Bruce Willis' character is Die Hard's relationship with Reginald VelJohnson, it's like that but the centerpiece of the movie. It's a good patriotic story that has a more or less balanced and realistic portrayal of the war; the American's knowingly and reluctantly firebomb a village with civilians, but the VC sadistically kill wounded American soldiers, all based in reality. I didn't really recognize any of the other cast members, and the director it seems mostly does TV stuff. The movie was filmed in Malaysia, and has a lot of great helicopter footage. The napalm scenes are extensive and well done. More of a story about a man's personal struggle than a straight forward kill the bad guys plot, but definitely worth checking out and is fast paced action.

In BAT*21, Gene Hackman plays a soldier shot down behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War and in desperate need of rescue by his buddy, Danny Glover. The plot would be resurrected a few years later for BEHIND ENEMY LINES, with Owen Wilson in the Hackman role and Hackman in the Glover role. The endings are virtually identical. But this 1988 feature film looks badly dated, and the special effects are laughable. The Owen Wilson version is on the mark for its eye-popping special effects and sheer suspense. Also, BEHIND ENEMY LINES portrays the Serbian effort at genocide very close to what we were reading in the newspapers and seeing on TV at the time. Anyhow, BAT*21 is for Hackman completists only. Serious movie buffs will recognize the explosion sounds from a hundred previous war movies. Unfortunately.

As a fan of Danny Glover and Gene Hackman, I picked up the movie at the video store, not really knowing what to expect. Having been a college student during the Vietnam era, living in Arizona's Valley of the Sun, I had also became a golf enthusiast. This movie had references to the war and to the game of golf which, therefore, held my interest. Knowing movies can sometimes exaggerate circumstances, I simply enjoyed the story as it progressed, and was delighted to be able to understand the terminology. When I noted that Lt. Col. Hambelton (retired and living near a golf course in El Paso, TX) was a consultant on the film and that it was based upon a book, my next course of action was checking out the novel at the library. I wasn't disappointed because, as is usual with books and films, there were some aspects of the story which carried more detail in written form. But the book stayed within the flow of the film. So, after enjoying both movie and book, I did what came naturally to me. I called long-distance information and got Lt. Col. Hambelton's phone number in El Paso. I explained that I was simply an admirer living in the little city of Victoria, TX and wanted to express my enthusiasm for the story. He didn't miss a beat...he (excitedly, by the way) told me that he had trained for service at OUR nearby Foster Field. This admission, in itself, added to my enthusiasm for the film and had me recommending Bat-21 to anyone who would listen.