Rescue Dawn (2006)

	Directed by: Werner Herzog	COUNTRY USA GENRE War/Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Rescue Dawn RUNNING TIME 126 minutes
	Produced by: Freddy Braidy Elton Brand Harry Knapp Steve Marlton
	Written by (based on the novel by Richard Matheson): Werner Herzog

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Lt. Dieter Dengler	Christian Bale	½
Duane Martin	Steve Zahn
Gene McBroom	Jeremy Davies	½
Phisit	Abhijati Jusakul
Procet	Lek Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat
Squad Leader	Zach Grenier
Norman	Pat Healy
Jet Pilot	James Oliver

Review

This film set during the Vietnam War and directed by veteran auteur Werner Herzog places itself in the "more or less based on a true story" category. It's Herzog's feature film follow-up to his 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs To Fly, which recounts the story of German-born pilot Dieter Dengler, who crashed during a mission for Air America during the Vietnam War and was subsequently captured by the Pathet Lao, who tortured and incarcerated him together with six other POWs fighting on the American side.

The greatest strength of Rescue Dawn is the obvious potency of the fates we meet here, and the feat of Mr. Dengler in particular. Still, Herzog's artistic execution is disappointing. He is too lenient in the film's initial phase, when it would have benefitted from a better introduction to the gallery of characters. This goes especially for our protagonist himself, who really doesn't come into his own until the final half of the film. By then, it is the compelling, reticent friendship between Dieter and Duane and their primal fight for survival that propels the film forward. In the end, Herzog seems to reap the rewards of his own achievement just as much as Mr. Dengler's. Christian Bale has long been known as a master of accents. Unfortunately, his Dieter Dengler has no real German identity – either in accent or mannerisms. With a little more effort from Bale, assisted by Herzog, Rescue Dawn could have stood out instead of falling into line.