This review was a challenge from Benn to Brian.

I love liberal hippies and their conspiracy theories. It allows them to blame the government, or some other entity, for their actions instead of taking responsibility. Which is what this movie is all about, government conspiracy in the Vietnam War, wow, how original. Oh, and the ending doesn't make since and should have been re-written.

Tim Robbins (Mystic River) stars as Jacob Singer, postal worker who is a Vietnam War veteran who is seeing demons and aliens in his world as they try to capture him. He is also having nightmares about the battle in which he was wounded in Vietnam, as well as talking to his son who was killed in an accident before the War. Kind a confusing, isn't it?

The beginning of the story is quite engaging. Obviously this guy has war issues and seeing the demons that he does would suggest a connection. For the first half of the movie, before the conspiracy theory comes to light, I found the movie very enjoyable because of this conflict. It appeared to be a man who saw something that has caused him to lose sight on reality when forced into a pressure situation, which working for the post office, would seem to be a 24 hour stressful job.

Tim Robbins performance is very steady. I guess it is easier to say that it was a very Tim Robbins performance, good but not great, conservative in his approach. Does the man know how to take a risk? I am not bagging on him, because he is a good actor, but has his performance ever changed? From Bull Durham to Shawshank Redemption his performance never changes.

The real problem is that the story just plain sucks. After the halfway point we discover that there is a possible government/army cover-up that involved his unit and the night he was wounded. This is the point where the story starts to unravel. If there is a cover-up, why did they rescue the injured men? Why not leave them to die in the jungle, dead man can tell no tales. However, writer Bruce Joel Rubin, leaves the best for the last. After Jacob learns all of these horror's of evil government involvement, he goes back home, walks with his dead child upstairs and the movie fades into brilliant light. From the light we are moved back to Vietnam, where Jacob is lying on the table and he dies. The doctors covered him up and leave, the end. Let me be the first to say what the f*ck? He dies on the operating table in Vietnam and everything since that time is some kind of pot induced hallucination while his body fades away? Doesn't that nullify everything that Jacob discovered? Why does he discover it when there is nothing he can do about it? This is all just very bad writing to try to prove a point that isn't necessary.

I am sure that there are/were a lot of messed up men that came home from the war. The combination of the horror of war, and the drugs that some of them used probably made for a bad after war life. But dreaming up of conspiracy theories to justify the use of drugs or the mindless waste of men demeans the loss of men and what they died for. You are a bad man Mr. Rubin, and by the looks of your career since this movie it looks like you have been and will continue to be punished for your writing. Avoid this movie unless you like Michael Moore, then you will probably love it.

Brian - the Naked Gun