Fireball Forward

One of the worst war flicks I have ever seen. It was on TNT the day before Veterans Day. With so many good war movies out there why did they choose to show this mess. I only watched the entire movie in hopes that it would get better, it didn't!

I have to admit I was deceived by the title and the summary on the back of the box. So I popped it in the vcr and kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting for something good to happen. But of course, it never does. The makers of this film should be tied to a chair and made to watch "Saving Private Ryan". Maybe they would learn something.

I think you all missed the point! The premise of the movie is to try to guess who the traitor is--the one who is betraying their next moves to the enemy. That is where I get my enjoyment; from the suspense. And as far as the suspense went, it was terrific!!

"Fireball Forward" was apparently intended as a pilot for a potential television series. And, like so many of these pilots, it ended up playing at a movie of the week on television. Sometimes this was done to see how the public responded to the film...in case they might want to give the series a go ahead. Sometimes they knew that the show would never be made but they showed the movie just to get some use out of them. I'm not sure which was the case with "Fireball Forward".

The film begins with General Barrett (Ben Gazzara) receiving a medal for his excellent work. However, this success is a double-edged sword, as now they have a new assignment for the general....to whip a demoralized and hard-luck division into shape. And, after more losses, it becomes apparent that perhaps someone is informing the Germans of the division's plans...which would explain the repeated defeats.

Like too many old made for TV movies on YouTube, the print for "Fireball Forward" is poor. Not only is it a bit blurry but there's a strong pink cast to the show! Yep...pink soldiers! I cannot blame the movie for this...just the ravages of time and a need for conservation!

So is this any good? Well, with Ben Gazzara and many other excellent actors, the film can't be bad! While not a household name now, Gazzara was an incredibly good actor...well respected back in the day. And, the script is interesting...quite unusual and it manages to make this less a war film and more a mystery-suspense film that just happens to be set in wartime. Well worth seeing.

With a little dressing up, this movie could be served for Thanksgiving dinner. Not only is is boring, implausible, historically inaccurate and poorly directed, the best actors were the bit players (mainly because they had so few lines to say). A waste of time, even for war fanatics.