Why so much hype?

Captivating movie !

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I was surprised that Halls of Montezuma was not an adapted play since a great deal of the action takes place in a cave that serves as a battalion headquarters where Colonel Richard Boone is trying to extract information from prisoners.That in itself wasn't easy because the Japanese were not known for surrendering. Boone gives an order to try and take prisoners on this landing on an unnamed Pacific island.Richard Widmark's company finds a few of them and it's a rough go and several members of Widmark's command die in the mission. The Japanese are firing a lot of rockets from a hill and the bombing from planes doesn't do any good. Before the big push towards that hill can be made those rockets have to be dealt with.A lot of promising young players from 20th Century Fox were in Widmark's platoon like Robert Wagner, Jack Palance, Richard Hylton, Skip Homeier, Martin Milner. Some make it and some don't. There are several flashback sequences showing these guys in their civilian lives and earlier in the war.At the headquarters there's also quite an assortment, Jack Webb a war correspondent, Philip Ahn an articulate Japanese prisoner who is a baseball player in civilian life and looking decidedly out of place there is the urbane Reginald Gardiner replete with cigarette holder. He's along for the ride because he's an expert on Japanese culture and psychology and speaks the language.Halls of Montezuma is a good, not a great war film. Three performances do stand out. Karl Malden as the veterinarian now serving as a medic and career marine Bert Freed and his sergeant Neville Brand.

Entertaining look at combat from the viewpoint of a small band of Americans slugging it out with the Nips over a dinky, but important, section of real estate on some nothing little island. I chuckled mirthlessly at the "no shoot" landing the jarheads made against a handful of sneaky, albeit useless, soldiers of the Imperial Army. The Americans were fortunate to have had that old building to base in; it took rocket after rocket and was little the worse for wear after a couple of days of constant shelling. I really appreciated the robotic, killing machine gyrene sarge who lost his eyes but valiantly stated: "just point me in the right direction and I'll keep fighting". What a hoss! As usual, we had to have the comic relief: this time in the form of a hard drinking, harder fighting GI who actually carried his private still around with him. I enjoyed seeing some of the old faces, but Widmark was the only bright spot in the entire production. Fun but corny.

The fog of war is redefined down to what is left of a US Marine Corps Platoon on a Japanese held island. The lieutenant, a former chemistry teacher and seven members of his original command must find where the Japanese have hidden rockets before the battalion attacks. Characterizations are typical of a Lewis Milestone move and avoid the formula cliches. To the platoon are added a combat historian and a suave, debonaire interpreter. Many future stars are featured in this stirring film at early stages in their careers. As an Reserve Army Colonel and a high school chemistry teacher this film strikes home. Do they find the rockets? You must see this film to find out.

My husband and I were particularly impressed by the camera technique used to transition from foxhole (or ship deck) to a scene in an earlier part of each soldier's life. We were so taken by Milestone's excellent direction and the film's incredible cinematography that the first time we saw it we just had to rewind and watch it over from the very beginning.Our only regret was that we did not watch the wide screen version.