An average movie

Since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington, I was definitely eager to check this flick. You may have forgot it but Denzel Washington had to thank his breakthrough to Edward Zwick when he was cast in 'Glory' resulting in his 1st Academy Award. So, this was the 2nd time they worked together but this time, he was the lead. Eventually, it was a solid military thriller. One of the most intriguing aspect in this movie was the cast. Indeed, another prominent star in this prodution was Meg Ryan who was trying to be seen as a serious actress and she could have developped a more various career like other actresses like Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon. Eventually, even though it was a decent attempt, she would always remain the queen of the romantic comedies and when don't hear much from her anymore. Actually, the best performance was eventually provided by no one less than Matt Damon who was totally unknown at the time. Damon gave a rather heartbreaking performance as a soldier drug addict losing 40 pounds which seems rather excessive since he was on screen for less than 15 minutes. However, it seemed that it was worth it since that, thanks to this performance, he was eventually noticed by Francis Ford Coppola who offered him the leading role in 'The Rainmaker' and by Steven Spielberg who hired to play the title character in 'Saving Private Ryan'. Coming back to the movie itself, like I said before, it is a rather entertaining military thriller but like any Hollywood thriller, it had to end up with some rather convoluted twist which is something that always disappoints me. Still, it is and remains a decent flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10