david-bacon First of all, I've read some comments saying it's not funny and even one comparing it with a Steve Martin movie. It's a sarcastic and ironical humor, and if you only like Three Stooges only( people may like it and also like other type of comedy) type of jokes, don''t watch it, you'll miss the funny parts. Now reviewing it : I'm Brazilian and knowing how politics works down here it's very believable whats happening on screen. Which makes it funnier. The tests and the hearing are hysterical, I coudn't stop laughing, the general explaining himself to the senator it's worth the movie. And to think that this movie was so low profile when it was delivered, it makes me sad. It's a must see, if not for the funny parts(not everyone has a sense of humor), at least for the message: watch your government very, very close, they usually screw up.

michaelvotel This is an absolutely wonderful movie, and as an ex-military officer I can appreciate the humor. It should be pointed out, however, that if you look closely at the uniform of the General in Kelsy Grammar's portrayal; it shows medals which can only be earned through extreme heroism on the battlefield, including saving of lives under fire; and having been wounded many times in battle; presumably the uniform of a competent military leader.Is this as much a movie about the unfairness of putting heroic military officers in a position for which they are have neither the training nor the temperament to perform competently?

Enchorde **Here be spoilers**Comedy? Where? Lt.Colonel Burton (Cary Elwes) get an assignment to investigate a project to develop the new troop-carrier Bradley, a project we soon learn that has been going on for almost two decades resulting in a freak vehicle. Of course, the officers in charge of the project Maj. General Partridge (Kelsey Grammer), Col. J.D. Block (John C McGinley) and Maj. William Sayers (Tom Wright), is determined to finalize the project and start producing the vehicle, no matter the vehicle is a major disaster. These officers are so determined so they refuse to do full testing of the vehicle, knowing it would give disastrous results. Burton on the other hand soon discover the true nature of the vehicle and demands that full live tests should be done. The tests is then sabotaged by Block and Sayers, giving no good results even if it is evident that the vehicle is a danger to anybody except possibly the enemy. From his end Partridge works behind the scenes frequently relocate Burton to stop his investigation. Finally all result in a hearing with a senate committee.The plot contains no suspense at all, and is totally predictable, especially since the story jumps back and forth in time giving good clues how it all ends. Before I watched the movie I read a brief review of the plot, and saw it was listed as a comedy, I had some expectations. I was hoping for hoaxes and fun twists, something alike "Sgt. Bilko" with Steve Martin and "Down Periscope" with Kelsey Grammer himself. In addition I saw that the cast featured at least three persons that have proven themselves within the comedy genre, I am of course thinking of Grammer, Elwes and McGinley.I was very disappointed, since I can't really find anything funny with this movie. There are no outright jokes, the way the tests are sabotaged are not funny or even somewhat clever. Actually I can not imagine how this was called a comedy. The war-genre might apply, even if we see absolutely no war action (except some historical images in the introduction), otherwise, drama is much better in my opinion.The cast is neither good or bad, seem to have been another day at work for most of them. Nothing spectacular, nobody rises above the thin material, no one a disappointment either.Just let this one go quietly into some archive, lost to history.3/10

Robert J. Maxwell Cary Elwes, who sounds like a cross between Martin Sheen and Richard Dreyfus, is pretty good as the earnest innocent, and Kelsey Grammar is superb as his immediate boss, blustering and puffed up and brimming with admiration for ex-military comrades who have gone into the private sector and make enough money to "buy and sell us ten times over." Supporting players are adequate, especially the full colonel and the major who are Grammar's flunkies. The two are outstanding as they wince, roll their eyes, and fiddle their fingers nervously when things begin to go wrong. The story involves an attempt on the part of the military to produce a simple, speedy personnel carrier. Bit by bit, overweight generals beef it up with additional heavy firepower, TOW missiles, more armor and ammunition, portholes for firing through, amphibious capacity, and whatnot, until the original objective is lost sight of, there being not much room left for personnel to be carried. The number of carried personnel dwindles from 11 to 6 in order to make room for additional ammunition and equipment. The thing is also a death trap. It is made partly of lightweight aluminum which, as the Brits discovered in the Falklands, gives off toxic gas when it burns, and it burns readily, as it would if, say, it were hit by an anti-tank round.The R&D program rolls along for 17 years and costs 14 billion dollars. And test results look pretty good based, as they are, on deceit. Elwes, as Burton, the congress-appointed rather junior overseer, fights the bureaucracy all the way and in the end has the congressional hearings he's been pushing toward. Yes, it looks like a happy ending. But we are left wondering as the epilogues appear on the screen. Burton was forced to retire. Grammar's character was promoted. The Bradley was put into trimmer shape before the Gulf War and this reduced casualties, but plans were already underway to beef it up again. According to the Bradley web site provided by the army, the beefing up has been completed. The way it is now described closely resembles the version that Elwes fought. It still has a dangerously high profile for a scout vehicle, a heavy turret, TOW missiles that must be reloaded from outside the vehicle, aluminum parts, inflatable tubes to make it amphibious, and it still can carry only 6 infantrymen. (The scout version designed for the cavalry can only carry two.) Caspar Weinberger, played by Richard Benjamin, is portrayed as honest and determined. But his orders to his subordinates are vacuous. Like, "I want reports on this vehicle, and I want them soon." So what? In real life, Weinberger was known as "Cap the Knife" when he ran the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, because he cut so many programs to save the taxpayer's money. At Defense, he lost the nickname and became much more generous with the taxpayer's money, indulging the military and business whims despite criticism from the taxpayers. People like Weinberger were ultimately responsible for the messy process we see in this movie. As sociology, it's pretty funny. As a more or less true story it would be ridiculous if its implications weren't so tragic.