merklekranz Review of The Boys in Company C

The Boys in Company C (1978)

A movie on a collision course with itself .............

[7/10 · 23 November 2010]

"The Boys in Company C" is like two movies in one. The first part is a structured boot camp, run by Drill Seargent R. Lee Ermey. It's all about preparing a nice assortment of somewhat stereotyped raw recruits for battle in Vietnam. The second part of the film is a tale of almost total chaos, with special emphasis on inept officers. Body bag counts seem to somehow have value, and that specter follows the privates throughout the remainder of the film. The acting is good, the action sparse, and we are certainly presented a unique, though unsatisfying view of the War. For what it is, "The Boys in Company C" is entertaining, but an uneasiness prevails throughout, as this seems to be a movie on a collision course with itself. - MERK