Uncommon Valor

Directed by Ted Kotcheff, Uncommon Valor follows retired marine Jason Rhodes (Gene Hackman) as he recruits former soldiers, including Fred Ward’s Wilkes and Patrick Swayze’s Scott, for a mission to rescue several POWs in Vietnam. Filmmaker Kotcheff, working from Joe Gayton’s screenplay, delivers a decidedly hit-and-miss endeavor that fares best when focused on Hackman’s engaging central character, as the actor effectively (and instantly) transforms his character into a wholeheartedly compelling and sympathetic figure for whom one can’t help but root – which, in turns, goes a long way towards elevating the material on a relatively frequent (yet not quite frequent enough) basis. It’s clear, then, that Uncommon Valor‘s decidedly inconsistent atmosphere stems from its erratically-paced (and somewhat padded-out) narrative, with certain interludes generally (and ultimately) unable to pack the exciting, visceral punch that Kotcheff has obviously intended. (This is particularly true of the prolonged training sequences and spinning-its-wheels buildup to the action-packed climax.) The inclusion of a few stirring moments towards the end (eg Rhodes finds and saves an emaciated POW) ensures that Uncommon Valor finishes on a fairly positive note, at least, with the final result a watchable piece of work that would hardly even be worth mentioning were it not for Hackman’s typically superlative efforts.

**1/2 out of ****