'Rescue Dawn' very suspenseful

RESCUE DAWN — *** 1/2 — Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies; rated PG-13 (violence, torture, profanity, vulgarity, slurs, brief drugs, brief gore).

A few things do blow up in "Rescue Dawn," such as a bomber plane and a few buildings. But there isn't nearly as much of what they call "explosive mayhem" as you'd expect in a war movie —or, for that matter, a summer film.

But "Rescue Dawn" is one of the best movies out there — war or otherwise. And it certainly stacks up with Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated "Letters From Iwo Jima."

That's because this one focuses so strongly on story and character. Veteran screenwriter/director Werner Herzog based this war drama on one of his favorite tales, which he told in a different form in 1997, with the documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly."

This dramatic version doesn't have much in the way of story embellishments, and Herzog has used one of better actors around today, Christian Bale, to play the heroic U.S. Naval Aviator pilot Dieter Dengler.

As the Vietnam War film begins, Dieter is a little nervous about his first mission, a bombing raid in Laos. It's top secret, and he and his fellow pilots know that if they're shot down, they might be on their own.

Unfortunately, some stray shrapnel shreds one of the wings of Dieter's plane. He manages to escape the crash unscathed, however, and tries to make his way through the Laotian countryside unnoticed.

Instead, he's captured and taken to a prisoner-of-war camp. His fellow detainees include Gene (Jeremy Davies), who is holding onto the belief that a peace accord will be reached and that they'll be freed soon, and Duane (Steve Zahn).

Dieter, however, isn't about to wait for an accord. He's already making plans to escape from the camp, though he'll have to get the others to go along with him if the plan is to be successful.

Even if you've already seen the earlier documentary, this story is very suspenseful. And those who haven't seen the other film will find this one quite involving, especially since it's a true story.

Also, Herzog has added a few, subtle political shadings that call some of the Kennedy administration's actions into question, but they never overwhelm the story.

And as you'd expect, the cast is terrific. Bale makes Dieter very relatable. Surprisingly, Zahn is equally good as the increasingly unhinged Duane, a characterization that really commands attention. His performance is the stuff for which awards nominations were made.

"Rescue Dawn" is rated PG-13 for some strong war violence (bombings, shootings and a beheading), scenes of torture and interrogations, scattered profanity, some vulgar scatological references and humor, slurs based on nationality, brief drug references and brief gore. Running time: 126 minutes.

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