Rescue Dawn

Today I saw Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn.

I hate to say it, but I'm so immune to war movies these days, this one barely meant more than the last handful I saw.

And I'm not implying it was a bad movie—it wasn't—but I'm so tired of the story and the torture and the horror and the injustice that I don't feel like watching it anymore.

This particular film tells the tale of Deiter (Bale), an American pilot who goes down in Laos and becomes imprisoned with others who have been there for years by the time he arrives (and he gets there 'before' the war starts). He concocts a successful escape plan, executes it (along with some prison guards) and finds himself wandering the jungle with one of his fellow prisoners, Duane (Zahn).

The best part of this movie is the friendship that develops between these two.

Of course we expect that Deiter will survive, and when he does, his rescue is nothing short of inspiring, but we're still left with flashbacks of the carnage left behind, on both sides of the conflict.

Herzog made a good, solid movie—I just wish he'd have chosen a less-popular topic.