Two people who have never met encounter each other under the darkest and circumstances in this Vietnam War movie that truly will grab you from the moment it starts. Gene Hackman and Danny Glover are superb as a lieutenant colonel lost in the danger zone after bailing out of his crashing bomber and the captain on the rescue jet sent out to find him. Over the period of a few days, they begin to bond, talking about everything and anything to pass the time with Hackman giving Glover pertinent information of where the enemy is and eventually sending him and other jets into the battle zone who are the worst of the Vietnam War occurs. There are casualties, Hackman becomes a killer for the first time in his life, and the two men begin a desperate attempt, one to be rescued and the other to be a rescuer. They become friends before they even see each other's faces.

It's heartbreaking to watch Hackman encounter the young children of the man he is just killed, one covered in hideous cars on his chest. Later, he encounters a little boy who walks by him in fear but gets a sense about him and rushes back where he does something truly amazing. It's little moments like this that makes a hideousness of War on screen palpable, and those moments are truly touching. Hackman and Glover are two of the best actors on-screen in the past 50 years, and their performances here are top-notch. They are acting without even saying a word over their concern as the situation goes from bad to worse to deadly. Each of them has a code name and also talked to various codes which but then sister location from being discovered by the Vietnamese who are listening in.

I of course had heard of this film, but it has been somehow overshadowed by other Vietnam War films of the period, and is just as memorable as "Full Metal Jacket" and "Platoon". It's another true story that has been wonderfully adapted for the screen, no-nonsense and non-stop action, filled with terrific photography, amazing locations add showing the camaraderie of those together. In war when things get really bad. As it is not necessary to the story, it does not take a side or send a message. It is strictly about survival, something necessary for each individual in all wars, and gives a nice human element to a dark situation that most people couldn't imagine going through for one night let alone the time that Hackman is out in the wilderness.