A murdered shoe-shine man turns out to be a veteran who was trying to return the Bronze Star he received during the Vietnam War.A murdered shoe-shine man turns out to be a veteran who was trying to return the Bronze Star he received during the Vietnam War.A murdered shoe-shine man turns out to be a veteran who was trying to return the Bronze Star he received during the Vietnam War.
Photos
- Interim DA Nora Lewin
- (credit only)
- Trial Judge
- (as Daniel Desmond)
- Translator
- (as Leon Quangle)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on two separate incidents:
- The Thanh Phong raid controversy surrounding Senator Bob Kerrey.
- The My Lai massacre, which occurred during the Vietnam War on March 16, 1968.
- GoofsThe funeral for the victim, Joe Eastman, was peculiar. As a veteran, he is eligible for a full funeral service paid for and conducted by members of the US Army. The playing of "Taps" on a tape recorder by a uniformed officer is not the proper portrayal of a funeral for a war veteran.
- Quotes
A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn: Gardner's accepted our offer of man two. She intends to ask the judge for the minimum.
Jack McCoy: A mayor and an oil executive. I'm sure she'll make a strong case. I think there were mitigating factors.
A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn: Based on what they did or who they are?
Jack McCoy: They were kids. Kids armed to the teeth, put in a place where most of the time they couldn't tell who was for them and who was against them. We need to be careful how we judge.
My generally positive, if not entirely enthusiastic, opinion of "Armed Forces" is pretty much the same and is one of those episodes described above. There is a lot to like about it, but considering the subject there was room for it to have been even better than it turned out. The right amount of emotion is here, but it is a bit lacking in the subtlety department (which is actually not easy to do for this subject when recounting horrific experiences).
Beginning with the not so good, the investigative scenes are a little routine and ordinary with some of it feeling too much like familiar ground. Also did think that it was heavy handed on occasions with everything concerning Vietnam where the writers' stance on the issue is made clear rather than seeing it from all sides.
Elisabeth Rohm is still incredibly wooden and there is no warmth at all to Southerlyn.
However, so much succeeds. Production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic.
The dialogue is smart and always intriguing and on the whole the story is very compelling and wrenches the gut to intense and heart-wrenching effect. The recounting of the horrific events are truly unspeakable. The acting is very good, with Rohm being the one exception.
Concluding, good if not great. 7/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 23, 2022