Like the casualty-heavy, real-life skirmish it's based on, "We Were Soldiers" begins to go awry as soon as the fighting starts. That's a real disappointment, because this Vietnam War drama starts as a strong, surprisingly character-driven piece. But by the time it's over, the movie has devolved into an incredibly heavy-handed, manipulative dud that feels all too familiar.

In fact, there probably isn't a single war-movie cliche that "We Were Soldiers" doesn't trot out. Also, it seems to be trying to out-do "Saving Private Ryan" in the amount and graphic nature of its gore, which, ultimately may be too much for a lot of audiences.

Besides, the film comes so close on the heels of "Black Hawk Down," and has so much in common with that film in terms of story content, that you can't help but make comparisons. (And guess which one loses out?)

Consequently, "We Were Soldiers" doesn't really do justice to source material, the best-selling book "We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young," written by journalist Joseph Galloway and retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Harold Moore.

Mel Gibson stars as Moore, who, as a lieutenant colonel, led U.S. soldiers in their first battle against North Vietnamese forces — a day-long 1965 battle in the Ia Drang Valley, also known as "The Valley of Death."

Moore has gone in well-prepared, unlike the French troops who were massacred by Vietnamese soldiers months earlier. Still, he has the feeling that he and his young soldiers are being led to the slaughter.

And he may be right. As it turns out, the Americans are badly outnumbered — there's slightly less than 400 of them, compared to 2,000 Vietnamese soldiers. Still, Moore is resolved to hold the line, and without losing many of his men, if that's possible.

Though the film re-teams Gibson with his "Braveheart" screenwriter Randall Wallace (who also directs here), this is a lot less like that Oscar-winner and more like Gibson's last epic, the clumsy Revolutionary War piece "The Patriot."

Wallace's use of slow-motion feels gratuitous — though not as gratuitous as the sickening gore. And his half-hearted attempts at "humanizing" the Vietnamese troops are as laughable as they are unsuccessful.

Gibson, does bring some much-needed humor and warmth, though his Southern accent seems to get broader as the movie goes on. And the performances of the name-heavy supporting cast are inconsistent — with only Sam Elliott and Greg Kinnear making much of an impression.

"We Were Soldiers" is rated R for graphic war violence (shootings, stabbings and explosive mayhem), graphic gore (often shown in close-up), occasional use of strong, sexually-related profanity and crude slang terms, as well as some use of racial epithets. Running time: 141 minutes.

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com