Truly Dreadful Film

Captivating movie !

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Prolific German director Uwe Boll has become something of a spittoon for film-going audiences with his much-hated video game-based action and horror movies, such as House of the Dead (2003), Alone in the Dark (2005) and BloodRayne (2005). While the aforementioned movies range from atrocious to just below passable, his later non-game based films have earned some more positive comments too. I was skeptical about his Vietnam War tale Tunnel Rats when popping the DVD in the player last night, but in the end the atmospheric film proved out to be fairly enjoyable.The story is set in 1968 Vietnam where a platoon of American soldiers is clearing the underground tunnels that the Vietnamese troops use in their stealth missions and connections. The dark, narrow and frequently booby-trapped tunnels are anything but safe, but when a massive Viet Cong attack begins, life above the ground is just as cheap and bodies start piling up quicker than can be counted.Unlike many mindless actioners, Tunnel Rats begins rather slowly; the first third of the runtime is spent on getting to know the soldiers as they pass time during the day and night before their tunnel mission begins the next day. The hardened veterans and enthusiastic or frightened rookies don't feel particularly memorable or unique compared to other war movies, but some characters are at least somewhat worth caring about, such as Privates Verano and Porterson (Rocky Marquette and Garikayi Mutambirwa). However, I don't think the charm of the film is really in character drama anyway (indeed, according to Boll there was no script and the actors improvised their lines); the story works much more effectively once the action gets going because it manages to not feel like a generic carbon-copy of the Rambo series like I was worried it would.The claustrophobic tunnels are lit extremely scarcely with yellow hand-held lights that make the underground scenes feel very atmospheric even if (or because) it is sometimes difficult to see what exactly is happening on the screen. The cinematography in the scenes above the ground has a faded, washed-out look that makes the green jungle appear all the more miserable a place. Besides the visuals, the subdued score by Jessica de Rooij also supports the mood well, beginning as little more than a compilation of ominous tones but ultimately turning into a pleasantly low-key accompaniment for the battles that could have easily felt overtly banal with more bombastic music.The best scenes are saved for the last: the agonizing, nightmarish crawls through collapsing tunnels, the encounter with a frightened Vietnamese family hiding underground and the explosion-heavy fights in the Army base are all fairly suspenseful and done in a less cartoony way than could be expected judging from Boll's earlier efforts (that is not to say Tunnel Rats wouldn't present a fair share of gory violence though). The downbeat ending is left somewhat open but makes its point clear in an enjoyably laconic way.Although Tunnel Rats is not quite a masterpiece, it is a fairly well made war film and would surely have a higher user rating if Boll's name was not attached to it. Were the characters more memorable, the movie could have been even better, but I dare to recommend it to fans of the genre even as it is now. All in all, perhaps grudgingly it must be acknowledged that Uwe Boll actually can make a good film, even if a lot of people would prefer him to remain an easy target for mockery and sarcasm.

Uwe Boll, previously a purveyor of "torture porn", has suddenly decided to try his hand at a war movie. This one's titled 1968 Tunnel Rats, presumably because his viewing fans, (of which there are several in these pages), would then have some idea of when the Vietnam war occurred. The "story", such as it is, revolves around a platoon of American soldiers who are on a search and destroy mission. They uncover some Viet Cong underground tunnels in the jungle and, in the process of reconnoitering, many die horrible deaths. This is where Mr. Boll's previous film experience comes in handy, and thus the description of some viewers here as "intense". Actually it's simply poorly staged screen violence, the main attraction of Boll's previous film efforts, and there's little else that adds interest to the movie. One of the worst Vietnam war movies ever made.

There are many occupations one might chose while in the Military, being a Tunnel Rat in Viet-Nam is not one of the favorites. Having served in Viet-Nam, I will say, blunt admiration went out from the members of our platoon and little disrespect was ever shown to those who survived. This film is called " Tunnel Rats " and brings to the fore, the thankless but courageous job these men did. I suspect the director's intent was to show the dramatic, dangerous and often suicidal missions these specialist were sent to accomplish. Filming both sides of the conflict, the camera also offered the Vietnamese' struggles against the Americans. From what there is to see, the soldiers on both sides engage in brutal and terrifying face to face combat with split-second reactions at every meeting. Michael Pare is supposedly a Lt. but listed as a Sargent in the film and with his men is dropped into the jungles with a search and destroy mission. Once inside the black maze-like underground environment, life takes on a nightmarish and hellish life of its own. Only the actual combat soldier who survives the encounters could ever reveal what it's like to be scared every second beneath the natural cemetery. A good film, but difficult to follow as most of the action is filmed in the dark. Despite it being a bit inaccurate, its worthwhile watching. ***

I realize that, being an American, I may not be the most objective about this... but really! This movie made the American troops look like bumbling, cruel, calloused idiots vs. the gentile, peace-loving, well trained VC. I am a veteran, and having been to war and understand the reality of the fact that both sides are human. I also understand that America is not always right. Even allowing for those things I cant give any credit here for an attempt at accuracy. There was nothing objective about the clear anti-American bias in this movie. If you enjoy watching American soldiers die then you may like this movie... This is a horrible movie about a horrible war...