Most of the films made about the American involvement in Vietnam are highly critical and were produced long after the American withdrawal from that shameful conflict. John Wayne, however, saw Vietnam as a new Alamo, staunch Republican that he was, and both starred in and co-directed this flag-waving action adventure. There's no denying the epic sweep of the Panavision action scenes, but even for Duke fans this is heavy-going, thick-eared nonsense. It's impossible to divorce the movie from the man, and Vietnam was nobody's Alamo. If you close your mind, you could try watching it as a transplanted western, but who can close their mind to the true horrors of such a conflict?

Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for two missions in South Vietnam. The first is to strengthen a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy. The second is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.