Rain (IV) (2001) User Reviews

Good story but bad delivery......

[highflying_falcon · 5/10 · 30 December 2006]

It is a good change to see a war movie which depicts an aspect of the war which is rarely talked or heard about. Rather than show full-blown action sequences with gung-ho soldiers ready to give it to the enemy, we see a side of the war that shows that it is not only humans that face the prospect of sacrificing their lives for a particular cause.

Before this film I had no idea that dogs played such a large role in what was the longest war to have been fought in the 20th century. Of the 4,500 German shepherds that travelled to Vietnam only 1 in 10 survived to return home. A fact which is very duanting I agree.

The delivery of the story was very poor however. As much as the director tried to be original in depicting how he would have seen the war we see many stereotypes brought out in a very cheap sense with your "hard-core" group of soldiers which found it hard to accept Rain's help early in the film which ended up with the "oh I owe my life to that dog" type of relationship.

The production company could have also made a bigger effort in using actual weapons and equipment that were actually used in the time. The rifles used by the soldiers for example was the "M16A2" (first issued to American troops in 1985)is actually an upgraded version of the original "M16A1" used during the Vietnam war. The helicopters used during the Vietnam war were of course the Bell UH-1 helicopter, not the Bell 206- B3 as shown in the movie because it was designed primarily for civilian use not military.

But I guess the movie could have been worst had they not salvaged it by adding that typical "war-time romance" into the story to give the movie some sort of lift (not much of it though).

Overall a 2/5 stars from me.

Multiple flaws ruin good story

[jellipsis · 4/10 · 6 June 2001]

I expected a low-budget movie that was long on story and short on effects. The story, however, was full of hackneyed elements (the jaded Lt. who won't trust the new guy, the platoon full of chip-on-the-shoulder vets, the new guy who earns the platoon's respect through his grit...and on and on). It was also piled high with errors in detail that just irritated me. It seems as though there were no military advisors at all working on this film. Few or none of the rifles carried by the platoon dated to Vietnam. In one case, a sharpshooter picks off a VC sniper using a rifle developed in the mid-90's that shoots pistol ammo - hardly the high-accuracy piece they were trying to depict.

The romance that appears in the film is also laughable and totally unnecessary. That the lead character places his love in harm's way with little regard for her safety is obnoxious - and probably worth a court martial.

I am an animal lover, and when I heard Animal Planet was going to show the story of military dogs in Vietnam, I was excited. The story, though, is thin and the attention to detail was so poor as to be a distraction.

Strangely compelling

[phillyndon · 6/10 · 16 May 2003]

I started watching this film late at night and despite the awful acting and sickeningly heart-rending story-line, I had to watch to the end to see what happened. Rain turns in the best performance out of all the actors, especially in the "overcoming his fear of water" scene, and has no doubt gone on to better things since this film. It was weird though that it was such compelling viewing.

Unfortunately the end was nauseatingly happy.

Rain

[Keecha7 · 6 December 2006]

I just saw this movie on television and was moved by it. At least men and women have a choice but the dogs have no choice to be in war and they don't give up and will do anything to save people. I am glad that I saw this movie and thought it was well done to show the part these dogs play in saving the lives of many. I recommend it to anyone to open their eyes to more of what really goes on in war. Many different movies about war focus on different aspects and all are important to show us and make us appreciate what people and animals like dogs and horses, have to go through. I don't know anything about the level of acting ability , it was enough to move me and that is good enough for me.

Good movie let down by inaccuracies. (possible spoiler)

[awindowpaine · 4/10 · 7 December 2006]

Good to see something other than the usual SF fare about the Vietnam way. This is the first movie i have seen that references the job the dogs and dog handlers did in Vietnam. But the movie is let down by a lot of factors, namely the helicopters, weapons, and tactics. Modern weapons were used instead of the correct weapons, the helicopters were the wrong type, and some of the acting was atrocious. the best part of the movie is the dogs themselves. It was rare for the dogs to be returned to the states, as risk of disease was too high. most dogs remained in country, either with other forces, or were euthanised. Out of approximately 5,000 dogs, only around 200 returned to the states.

Fairly good war+dog movie

[pmarin · 6/10 · 8 December 2001]

I'd say a fairly good movie, on a fairly good script, with a small cast of fairly good, fairly unknown actors. Just didn't seem "great" in any way, but it does relate to a side of the Vietnam war that most people aren't aware of. The statistic given was that 4500 dogs served in the war. I certainly was not aware of this, or in what capacity they were used. I found the movie worthwhile for the telling of this story.

Didn't know about the "Animal Planet" production, but anyone expecting this to be a "nice doggie" movie for the whole family should note that it still feels like a war movie with a dog, rather than a dog movie with a war. Considerable suspense and some action, but no extremely violent scenes. But the "little girl with dog" scenes that start the movie aren't typical of the rest of it. (Which may be a good thing).

The "love story" does seem a bit contrived and artificial, but it did provide a break from the "military guys fighting / military guys talking with other military guys" which otherwise would make up the majority of the movie.

Incidentally, I did notice a "military content advisor" on the credits, and quite a few military agencies given thanks, so I'm not sure what was going on with the weapons inconsistencies that another reviewer mentioned, but I'm no expert on these so I would never have noticed.

Gave it a 6.

Pathetic

[mack-usmc · 2/10 · 2 June 2021]

This was a really weak and poorly made movie. It has so many flaws in it that it is a joke. Basically it is a water of time.

Just a nice simple good old fashion flick

[stalkofs · 6/10 · 9 November 2001]

This movie isn't a big budget picture, big budget Apocalypse Now wasn't needed. Good old fashion story of Boy and his Dog or in this case a Soldier and his dog. There are some parts that may make sensitive people misty. Looked like they were walking through the MASH lot. This is basically a good story that takes place in Vietnam. Closed-minded people who don't trust a dog's instinct alone vs. those who have trust in the loyal companion.

A good movie but several inaccuracies.

[TomAnderson-Actor-Writer-Prodcr · 5/10 · 13 October 2019]

The movie has a great story line and good acting but a number of in inaccuracies especially to those of us in the Army at that time. You would never use a scout helicopter in Vietnam for insertion or extraction. Weapons for example a WW2 Thompson Machine Gun, M1 Carbine, and a BAR by the squad. I mean it could happen but probably more rare by this time in the war.

i just loved this movie.must see for all

[farhan_jia · 9/10 · 2 June 2002]

i just loved this movie.it shows the courage of dogs during wars which have been ignored or not given enough light to really come out to the people.we must remember that 5000 dogs served in vietnam and many died and saved a lot of us soldiers.if you do not believe in their importance ask those whom they saved.i just love this film.must see for all movie lovers.

not bad

[englishconversation · 8/10 · 7 January 2017]

Compared to most dog films this was great. The dog itself carried the film. As for the girl, I think she would have risked it to help Rain without being asked. The industry is crying out for a movie featuring a dog to equal the horse in "War Horse". At the start of the film the dog seems very docile, a family dog, unsuitable for war but yes dogs can be trained. As 4,500 dogs were sent out to Nam one must assume that indeed great bravery was shown by the dogs. Just as wars have improved health care for human veterans (although many later become neglected) I wonder how much medical care dogs get in the military. I know of at least one veterinarian in the UK uses his own intelligence and new "war injury" technology to get animals with serious leg and spine problems, to walk again. The tragedy is that 5 million healthy young dogs are euthanized every year in the USA because dogs and puppies are abandoned.

Fun memory form my Navy days in Puerto Rico

[rayandharleybeer · 10/10 · 30 September 2016]

I was a young Navy guy stationed in Puerto Rico when this was filmed. I was lucky enough to get to be an extra in the film and even though it was hot sweaty work and long hours day after day it makes for some fun memories :-) I see a few of the actors have moved on to bigger and better things too. I had an opportunity to do a line or two in the movie and turned it down. I should have done it darnit LOL, somewhere I still have a copy of the movie laying around that they had provided to the Navy. A lot of it was filmed on Naval Station Roosevelt Roads which is now a total mess thanks to being neglected for so many years after the Navy left.

Not a bad movie

[kevinhopkins-1 · 16 April 2009]

Being an ex Queensland (Australian) Prison dog handler the piece that stood out for me as a major flaw was that a dog would never be allowed to be "off lead" when in this environment - the chances of loss of control of the dog and in fact loosing him would be too great To take the Nurse into the situation he did was unforgivable and the fact that once the persons who were attempting to take the dog, over powered they did not grab the weapons from them In Vietman there was a bounty on the ears from the dogs and the handlers patches Overall it was entertaining If anybody knows where I can obtain a copy please let me know There was an excellent documentary on Pay Television called "War Dogs" where they interviewed ex handlers,and persons who donated the dogs They re-enacted some situations that handlers and their dogs had been in and highlighted the failure to recognise the job that these dogs did during the war Most of them were handed to the Veitnamese or put down after the war ended How could a handler just walk away from his dog and return home without it after the bond that would have been formed with the dog and the love and devotion that the dog would have given during its working life When I retired from the Dog Squad I took my dog with me and he passed away six years after we retired

"Krammer" passed away at aged 11 and I had him cremated I intend to have his ashes buried with me when it is my time - he will never be forgotten

Does anyone have this entire movie taped or on DVD

[KJHenrichs · 10/10 · 21 July 2007]

I saw this movie and I thought it was great. I was wondering does anyone have the entire film on video. I spent almost a month looking on the Internet and the only DVD version is French with no English connection whatsoever. I have tried asking Animal Planet for another showing of the movie but have gotten absolutely nowhere. I think the movie is excellent family videos like that are getting rare these and being both an animal lover (especially dogs) and war films it definitely fits my interest. I must disagree with anyone who says that this movie is a bad story or has bad delievery methods If anyone has the movie taped please post a comment saying so and we can try to talk. I would be willing to pay you for it. Thank you very much.

A story of dogs in Vietnam

[nicklinbay · 13 June 2001]

This movie is a story of dogs in Vietnam. It is about a dog named Rain that must over-come his fears while serving in the war. He is mostly afraid of being in the water. When the team has to cross a deap river, he makes it across with a rope and raps it around the tree. He than helps his platoon cross the river. It is simler to The Green Berets expect for that Rain has a dog. I recommand this movie to all IMDB users. It is a great movie. I saw it on Animal Planet. It is truly great.