Buffalo Soldiers (1997) Critic Reviews

A good satire that had the untimely bad luck to be about a U.S. soldier who will do anything it takes to party, except fight for the right.Read the full review

Tightly plotted and well-acted, the film litters its brisk run time with darkly funny and haunting setpieces.Read the full review

The film is filled with spot-on performances, by Harris, Glenn, Phoenix, and by Paquin, who has grown up after her debut in "The Piano" to become one of the most gifted actresses of her generation--particularly in tricky, emotion-straddling roles like this one. Read the full review

Adapting Robert O'Connor's novel, director Gregor Jordan slaps us with keen wit and purpose. Read the full review

It's an enjoyable and occasionally thought-provoking motion picture whose viewership should not be diminished by the unfortunate and inaccurate "anti-American" label. Read the full review

The highest accomplishment of Buffalo Soldiers is its wise invocation of that weirdest of all precincts, the post, and the odd culture it spawns.Read the full review

Had the young Jack Nicholson played such a character during the height of the Vietnam War, it would have been easy to go along for the ride. But skilled as Phoenix is at pulling off the individual scenes of Elwood's shenanigans, the actor doesn't come across as embodying rebellion to the marrow of his bones, which renders his scams arbitrary and disagreeably irresponsible. Read the full review

Ultimately, it's a cold, caustic film that doesn't take a strong point of view but seems to offer up its numerous set pieces.Read the full review

Sloppy when it should be incisive, indulgent when it should be astringent, and ultimately unsure of what it is mocking and in what spirit. Read the full review