← Back to results
The Green Berets
1968 142 min United States of America G 12+
★5.5
War, Drama
Director: Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, Mervyn LeRoy
Trailers
EN
Teaser
EN
Description
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.
Budget:
$7M
Worldwide:
$11M
Starring
John Wayne
Actor
David Janssen
Actor
Jim Hutton
Actor
Awards
2 nominations
Key opinion
The Green Berets is widely regarded as a dated and heavy-handed piece of Vietnam War propaganda that fails to capture the realities of the conflict. While some genre enthusiasts appreciate its traditional 1960s war-film structure, most viewers criticize its clichéd acting, simplistic ideological messaging, and implausible action sequences.
| Screenplay | The film leans heavily on antiquated, one-dimensional characterizations and stilted, 1950s-style dialogue. | |
| Theme | The narrative presents a starkly black-and-white, jingoistic justification for the Vietnam War that ignores the nuance of the conflict. | |
| Acting | The performances are consistently viewed as weak, relying on archetypes rather than believable human emotion. | |
| Direction | The action sequences are marred by illogical physics and staged choreography, failing to convey the gravity of warfare. | |
| Pacing | The long runtime is seen by some as a tolerable experience for war-film buffs, while others find the mechanical pacing and slow buildup to be tedious. |