Rescue Dawn (2007) Werner Herzog's rousing true story, Rescue Dawn , about a pilot (Christian Bale) who engineered a daring escape from a Laos POW camp in the…
DVD Review

Rescue Dawn (2007)

Reviewed by Tim Purtell | Nov 16, 2007
Rescue Dawn, Christian Bale, ... | DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN Steve Zahn and Christian Bale in Werner Herzog's Vietnam-era POW tale Rescue Dawn
Image credit: Lena Herzog
DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN Steve Zahn and Christian Bale in Werner Herzog's Vietnam-era POW tale Rescue Dawn
EW's GRADE
B+

Details Release Date: Nov 20, 2007; DVD Release Date: Nov 20, 2007; Movie Rated: PG-13; With: Christian Bale and Steve Zahn; Distributor: MGM

Werner Herzog's rousing true story, Rescue Dawn, about a pilot (Christian Bale) who engineered a daring escape from a Laos POW camp in the mid-'60s could be misconstrued as yet another mainstream actioner. Not surprisingly, the obsessive director has deeper pursuits, and he unspools themes of valor and loyalty with a spare beauty. EXTRAS include Herzog's intimate commentary and a doc in which Bale and costar Steve Zahn recount eating maggots, running barefoot in the jungle, and swimming in snake-infested waters. The shoot ''was a blast,'' Zahn assures us. B+

Originally posted Nov 16, 2007 Published in issue #965 Nov 23, 2007 Order article reprints