AlthoughJohn Wayne’s Vietnam movie was one of few to arrive on-screen while the war was still underway,The Green Beretsalso has the unique distinction of being one of the worst war movies ever made.John Wayne’s Western moviesmight be the Hollywood star’s most memorable outings, but the actor was nothing if not versatile. Wayne inexplicably played Genghis Khan in the 1956 historical epicThe Conquerer, and he starred in a bizarre anti-Communist film noir entitledBig Jim McLainin 1952. However, neither of these was his most reviled movie.
This Movie With 87% On Rotten Tomatoes Was John Wayne’s All-Time Favorite Western
John Wayne considered a particular Western that he starred in during the 1950s to be his all-time favorite movie across the entire genre.
John Wayne Wanted To Make A Movie In Support Of The Vietnam War
The Green Berets Is Deservedly Derided Pro-War Propaganda
With a paltry 23% onRotten Tomatoes,The Green Beretsis one of John Wayne’s least popular movies. The pro-war movie stars a 61-year-old Wayne as Colonel Mike Kirby, which was its first mistake. In a war where the average combat soldier was only 22 years old, Wayne was almost three times that age when he played the movie’s hero. The inaccuracies of the movie’s story only pile up from there, promptingThe New York Times' Renata Adler to refer toThe Green Beretsas “Sick,” “An outrage,” and “A travesty.”
Considering that the most conservative estimates put the number of war dead at over 1 million and many historians argue this figure could be as high as 3 million Vietnamese victims alone, Wayne’s movie earned a unique level of disgust from reviewers at the time and since. The cowardice involved in misrepresenting the invasion at a time when American soldiers were still being shipped over to Vietnam is a recurring theme in most contemporary reviews, which posit Wayne as a delusional fool at best and a dangerously cynical propagandist at worst.
What The Green Berets' Reviews Said About The John Wayne Movie
Critics Weren’t Kind To Wayne’s Transparent Propaganda
Perhaps the most notable condemnation ofThe Green Beretscame from the legendary critic Roger Ebert, who reviewed the movie forThe Chicago Tribune. Ebert argued that “Propaganda is what we get in “The Green Berets,”” arguing the movie had nothing to do with the reality of the Vietnam invasion. Ebert noted that, unlikeJohn Wayne’s best Westerns,The Green Beretsdidn’t even attempt to understand its villains and their motivations. Per Ebert, “We seem to be fighting a war for no particular purpose against a semi-anonymous enemy.”
Renata Adler ofThe New York TimescalledThe Green Berets, “So unspeakable, so stupid, so rotten and false” as to be “Vile and insane.“
Ebert’s excorciating write-up later saw him note that, if he were fighting in Vietnam, he would not want viewers to think he was “As stupid and simple-minded as the Americans in this film.” Renata Adler ofThe New York Timeswas similarly unsparing, callingThe Green Berets, “So unspeakable, so stupid, so rotten and false” as to be “Vile and insane.“ Adler topped off this rundown by noting that the movie was also boring, pointing out its lack of relative entertainment value as a final nail in the John Wayne vehicle’s coffin.
The Green Berets Was One Of John Wayne’s Biggest Misfires
Despite its critical failure,The Green Beretswas a modest box office success upon its release. Since then, the movie’s dangerously inaccurate depiction of the Vietnam invasion resulted in it being seen as a uniquely deleterious black mark on Wayne’s long-screen career. AlthoughJohn Wayne’s many moviesinclude a lot of lesser efforts,The Green Beretsis unusual in terms of how few retrospective reviews have even attempted to unearth any redeeming qualities the movie ought to have. Nowadays,The Green Beretsis typically mentioned only in contrast with later Vietnam War movies likePlatoonandFull Metal Jacket.
Critics noted that Wayne’s depiction of Vietnam was absurdly inaccurate and historians have since proven how true this complaint was.
The Green Beretsstands out as Wayne’s worst misfire because of the movie’s decision, from its initial conception to its execution, to actively promote a war that killed millions. Critics noted that Wayne’s depiction of Vietnam was absurdly inaccurate and historians have since proven how true this complaint was, as the conduct of both American soldiers and Viet Cong members seen inThe Green Beretsbears no relation to those found in historical accounts. Ultimately,John Wayne’sThe Green Beretswas a desperate attempt to cover up a travesty with transparent propaganda, and its universal condemnation from critics both then and now highlights how profound it failed.
