Parents' Guide to The Last Full Measure

This well-intentioned, well-acted biographical drama tells a worthy story but suffers from formulaic dialogue and a surprisingly preachy script. Writer-director Todd Robinson's version of the events also includes inaccuracies about the reasons it took more than three decades for Pitsenbarger to receive his due. Stan's character is made up, too, but at least he serves the purpose of introducing the case and its merits. The movie's biggest problems stem from the overly didactic scripting. The acting is fine: William Hurt plays the older version of the helicopter pilot who agrees to leave Pits behind; Samuel L. Jackson is the infantry officer who blames himself for the ambush; Ed Harris is one of the Army soldiers Pits saves; and, in his final role, the late Peter Fonda plays a survivor suffering from lifelong PTSD. Unfortunately, what this esteemed group of older actors has to say doesn't always ring true: Everything feels like a poetic soliloquy on war and its traumatic impact on veterans.

This is inarguably an important story that deserves to be told. But it might better lend itself to feature-length documentary, because in The Last Full Measure it's hard to tell what really happened and what's creative license. Even real-life Medal of Honor winners have said there was much more to the story (but also that they're happy the movie had been made). There's no need for the flourishes of melodrama -- the telling of Pitsenbarger's incredible sacrifice is compelling enough. It's simply a shame the movie's good intentions and important source material aren't matched by the execution of the filmmaking.