Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire follows Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling, a US Army officer whose mistaken order during a night attack in the Persian Gulf War killed American soldiers. The incident is covered up, and Serling is reassigned to desk duty at the Pentagon. There he is assigned to examine whether Captain Karen Walden, a helicopter commander, deserves the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. What begins as a routine review becomes complicated as Serling finds contradictions among the witnesses' accounts and uncovers details the military would rather keep quiet.

Edward Zwick directed the film, the fifth in a run that began with About Last Night... and includes Glory and Legends of the Fall. Patrick Sheane Duncan wrote the screenplay, and Denzel Washington leads as Serling, with Meg Ryan as Walden, alongside Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Matt Damon and Bronson Pinchot among fifty credited cast members. Made for a budget of forty-six million dollars, it took about one hundred one million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from 63,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.6/10 from 1,100 votes. A critics' rating of 7.6/10 from 56 reviews places reviewers noticeably higher than audiences.