Hamburger Hill (1987)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Melvin W

  
  Vietnam has been done a lot better than this. Tha acting and writing for this movie was horrible and made for some pretty lousy characters. Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket all had great acting and writing and that's why they stand high above this movie in… More
  Vietnam has been done a lot better than this. Tha acting and writing for this movie was horrible and made for some pretty lousy characters. Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket all had great acting and writing and that's why they stand high above this movie in effectiveness. Don Cheadle has a role in this movie and thank God for that. Although he has a smaller role than others in the movie, he clearly has the only good acting in this movie. It's realistic, but frankly I could care less because of the characters.

• Curtis L

  
  So awful. Goes on the list of bad war movies along with thin red line and tears of the sun. It tried so hard to have a moving message that I couldn't stand to watch. Ernie Hudson's presence is the only redeming part.

• Anthony L

  
  Overlooked and underrated, this is a realistic and brutal portrayal of the war in Vietnam. Powerful and entertaining!

• Daniel P

  
  "It don't mean nothin'" is the characters' refrain in this film, and the main characteristic that makes this film worth watching. An honest-to-goodness war pic in the spirit of classics like The Longest Day, the campaign to take Hill 937 is memorialized in… More
  "It don't mean nothin'" is the characters' refrain in this film, and the main characteristic that makes this film worth watching. An honest-to-goodness war pic in the spirit of classics like The Longest Day, the campaign to take Hill 937 is memorialized in this film by the name the troops bestowed upon it: Hamburger Hill. Though it was the late 80s, and while this film has some elements that suggest that it might have been at least partially directed at the Iron Eagle/Steven Seagal demographic, a much more important target audience for this film is probably veterans of the Vietnam War who, like those who watched (e.g., again) The Longest Day, were given the opportunity to see their own experience of a battle and a platoon dissected and re-created on the big screen... a basically true Vietnam War story among the thousands filmmakers have been scared to tell, minus the soapboxing of Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick and others. (Not to take anything away from Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and Full Metal Jacket.) Hamburger Hill is a loyal film - opening with the Vietnam memorial and closing with a dedication to those lost in this battle and the war as a whole - and it's a portrayal not necessarily of the war, but of the people in the war. In one sense, I couldn't care much about the characters, because there are so many and they aren't very developed, but in another sense, the device works: in a platoon and war such as this one, a soldier doesn't really get to know his (her) peers so well - re-assignments and casualties very quickly get in the way. Some bonds do form, though, and Dylan McDermott (who, until now, I never liked in The Practice or anything else) played the role of the Sergeant very well, displaying his compassion for his men, and his understanding of the aspects of all of their personalities. (The film also features an early performance by Don Cheadle, and one of my favourite sitcom actors of all-time, Brian from Wings, Steven Weber.) Protest, race relations, bureaucracy and media sensationalism are all in the background, but while some may call the portrayal of these aspects of the war dismissive, I concur with the soldiers' opinion that the film presents: it don't mean nothin'. This is a film about the experience of a group of men fighting together, and probably more for each other than for any of the supposedly noble goals of God or country or apple pie or communist containment, or whatever the hell that war was about. Real men went, and real men died, and this is a film that doesn't lack in realism in making its point. Some parts could have been better - for the last 10 minutes everyone is wearing way too much eyeliner, for example - but at the risk of over-intellectualizing a simple war movie, I'm going to say it: I truly think that this is a misunderstood film, and one too often overlooked in the Vietnam canon.

• xGary X

  
  Hamburger Hill is the story of a group of soldiers ordered to take a "strategically important hill" in Vietnam. Overshadowed by its contemporaries Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, this is a very creditable account of the Vietnam war viewed day by day by soldiers fighting a… More
  Hamburger Hill is the story of a group of soldiers ordered to take a "strategically important hill" in Vietnam. Overshadowed by its contemporaries Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, this is a very creditable account of the Vietnam war viewed day by day by soldiers fighting a pointless and bloody battle for a grid reference. It's essentially an analogy of the whole war, as the characters are dehumanized, traumatized and butchered by a largely unseen enemy for reasons it's difficult to fathom. The structure of the film is basically a series of brutally realistic and mud-soaked battle sequences punctuated by the soldiers bonding and discussing the various politics involved in their being there. This does come across as a little dry and emotionally uninvolving by its very nature as there is little point and therefore plot to the action and obviously a glorious victory is not forthcoming. A young Don Cheadle and particularly Courtney Vance as the likable and politically outspoken Doc are the standouts of an otherwise no-name cast, and it is an intelligent and honest depiction of men at war that's well worth a look if you enjoyed its contemporaries.

• Chris W

  
  Underrated and realistic film about one of the bloodiest and most gruesome battles to take place during the Vietnam. Save for appearances by Dylan McDermott and Don Cheadle (before they were stars), the cast is virtually unknown, and that's a big plus. Another highlight is the… More
  Underrated and realistic film about one of the bloodiest and most gruesome battles to take place during the Vietnam. Save for appearances by Dylan McDermott and Don Cheadle (before they were stars), the cast is virtually unknown, and that's a big plus. Another highlight is the music- both the standard rock songs of the sixties and the haunting score by Philip Glass. Check this one out, you won't be disappointed, especially if you're looking for a realistic war film that isn't a big budget Hollywood affair.

• Cameron J

  
  "Up on Hamburger Hill, there's a plastic tree. Are you here with me?" I don't like contemporary music, but I just had to take that opportunity. You know, while I was at it, I should have said "there's a plastic explosive", because everything's… More
  "Up on Hamburger Hill, there's a plastic tree. Are you here with me?" I don't like contemporary music, but I just had to take that opportunity. You know, while I was at it, I should have said "there's a plastic explosive", because everything's blowing up in this. Of course, it's not just action, action, action. There are some deep messages and this film wears that on its sleeve, but more on that later. Touching on the other flaws, we have a lack of character development, too much story development, periodic lack of engagement, the occasional choppy edit and the occasional gore exaggeration. Probably the film's biggest problem is that it feels so amateur. The score, sound and many writing decisions don't feel very professional. Writing is cliche, the sound editing is inconsistent and the score is weakly-composed. Maybe it's because the team behind this is RKO, which hasn't produced a groundbreaking classic since the '40s. Granted, it was "Citizen Kane", but most of that was done by Orson Welles. Still, through all of its flaws, the film remains a decent film supported by mostly snappy editing, good production designs, fairly decent effects and strong characters. As for the performances, they really carry the film. Hey kids, it's time for another episode of "Cameron's Redundant Acting Discussion Corner". Guess what kids, the actors have sharp chemistry, give off a compelling atmosphere and emote well. No, but seriously though, as cheesy as the film is, the actors remain compelling and keep you in the film. Man, what a terrible review. You know what that means: This film isn't that outstanding. Still, in spite of its flaws and amateurish mistakes, "Hamburger Hill" remains a fairly well-acted and generally compelling thrill ride worth experiencing.

• Curt C

  
  A little too realistic for me, but I can't argue that it's not a good movie.

• Jason R

  
  An extraordinarily gifted cast makes Hamburger Hill a fantastic film about the horrors of Vietnam and how it affects the soldiers who fought in it as they are faced with the impossible task of taking a hill that is full of Vietcong. The whole cast is great but watching Courtney B.… More
  An extraordinarily gifted cast makes Hamburger Hill a fantastic film about the horrors of Vietnam and how it affects the soldiers who fought in it as they are faced with the impossible task of taking a hill that is full of Vietcong. The whole cast is great but watching Courtney B. Vance was the biggest highlight of the movie, he was so great in the movie.

• Lee K

  
  so-so vietnam flick

Read all 10 featured audience ratings