Courage Under Fire Review

Messages: The military setting brings out themes of the slippery nature of "truth" in battle heroics and taking responsibility for one's actions -- even in a desperate situation under dangerous enemy fire. Along with it is the idea of sacrifice, bereaved families, and under-the-radar grief in war causalities (the hero snubs a Presidential ceremony to instead privately comfort a lost soldier's grieving relatives).

Role models: Serling -- despite his on-off drinking problem -- represents a dutiful Army man in the modern, multi-racial armed forces, digging for the truth, even when it hurts (and when his superiors order him to back off). Not quite a recruiting-poster look at the US military, as officers cover up the truth of a sordid incident for glory-propaganda, and Army soldiers turn guns on each other, accidentally and on purpose. Some are addicts. Flashbacks toy with viewer preconceptions of woman warrior Karen Waldon (a divorced single mother), but ultimately portray her positively.

Violence: Battlefield violence includes characters set on fire and shot at close range and bleeding. There is a spectacular, explosive suicide via car-train collision.

Sex: One off-color reference about "humping cheerleaders." Hunky guys in a locker room.

Language: The s-word, the f-word, "ass," "Jesus Christ," the c-word (as pertaining to females), the racist slur "ragheads."

Consumerism: The hero uses Apple laptops.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters smoke. Serling drinks to steady his nerves after combat flashbacks and is accused/blackmailed about being an alcoholic. Soldiers in a VA hospital take pills and IV medication, sometimes to excess. One character confesses to being an IV drug abuser (which may or may not have been a consequence of war trauma).