Courage Under Fire

"I just want someone to be a hero." So states Denzel Washington as Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling, who is assigned to review the candidacy of Persian Gulf pilot Capt. Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) for a posthumous Medal of Honor. Sensing a public relations coup, his superiors and the White House want him to rubberstamp his report. But Serling, himself haunted by a tragic friendly fire incident for which he blames himself, receives conflicting reports from Walden's men. Washington seems incapable of making a false move. Acting "butch" and spouting profanity, Ryan, forever our gal Sally, is less convincing, but Lou Diamond Philips, plucked from B-movie oblivion, commands attention as a dissenting voice ("She was afraid. That's the bottom line on your Capt. Walden"). In a year dominated by special effects, this is one of the few films from a major studio intended for adults. That itself is an act of courage. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)