It`s obvious that by 1988 the Vietnam war film had nothing more to say . From the pondering self pity of THE DEER HUNTER to the cruel humour of FULL METAL JACKET the sub genre had burnt itself out in a similar manner as napalm had burnt out the jungles of South East Asia . SAIGON ( As it`s known in Britain ) doesn`t make any pretence at bringing anything new to Hollywood`s love affair to the `Nam and tells us nothing we didn`t already know:
War is hell - Check
The South Vietnamese regime wasn`t worth the life of one GI - Check
All US colonels are crazy - Check
SAIGON doesn`t really feel more than a gimmick film, the gimmick being that it`s a murder mystery set during the war in Vietnam . I should also point that the murder plot is very unconvincing , especially so in the last ten minutes where the murderer is revealed and it becomes a race against time to save his victim .
If you want to see either Willam Defoe or Scott Glenn in a movie masterpiece rent PLATOON or APOCALYPSE NOW instead
War is hell - Check
The South Vietnamese regime wasn`t worth the life of one GI - Check
All US colonels are crazy - Check
SAIGON doesn`t really feel more than a gimmick film, the gimmick being that it`s a murder mystery set during the war in Vietnam . I should also point that the murder plot is very unconvincing , especially so in the last ten minutes where the murderer is revealed and it becomes a race against time to save his victim .
If you want to see either Willam Defoe or Scott Glenn in a movie masterpiece rent PLATOON or APOCALYPSE NOW instead