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“The Last Full Measure” covers the 1999 battle to obtain the Medal of Honor for deceased Air Force Airman William Pitsenbarger. Killed in combat in one of the bloodiest missions of the Vietnam War, Pitsenbarger saved many lives but was awarded what his family and the men he saved and served with considered a lesser commendation. We’re told that of the thousands of vets who have received the “MOH,” as the characters here call it, only 18 of them hailed from the USAF. Pitsenbarger was not even supposed to be on the ground; he was in a chopper with his fellow airmen airlifting the wounded until the company below lost their medic. After assisting the wounded on the ground, Pitsenbarger defies an order to return to his aircraft, opting instead to seal his fate by engaging in combat to cover the remaining company men.

Writer/director Todd Robinson spins this tale of heroism with a lot of purple sentiment but surprisingly little of the jingoism expected from a film like this. Instead, “The Last Full Measure” spends much of its runtime examining postwar post-traumatic stress disorder and the survivor’s guilt that accompanies it. Running underneath this is a subtly rendered current of anger over the way veterans are treated once they come home. These ideas are presented by a cast of well-seasoned actors who help the film survive its occasionally clunky dialogue. In fact, one of the film’s bigger pleasures is listening to these thespians plow through their numerous monologues. Their performances are the film's saving grace.

Sensing that his film might sink to more maudlin depths, Robinson presents an audience stand-in who represents the level of cynicism needed to balance out his story. Scott Huffman ( Sebastian Stan ) is three months away from losing his current cushy government position due to the resignation of a higher-up. To keep him busy until then, his boss Carlton Stanton ( Bradley Whitford ) assigns him the case brought up by Tulley ( William Hurt ), the airman who sent Pitsenbarger into the jungle on the day he died. Stanton thinks Tulley’s request will die on the vine—upgrades of medals were practically unheard of in the military—and even if it has staying power, the government will prolong any actions well past Huffman’s tenure. Huffman treats the job with some disdain, but Tulley is not only persistent, he’s wily. He earns an ally in Stanton’s boss by presenting his case at a mens’ room urinal. In one of the few scenes of humor, Tulley offers up a handshake while the other guy is quite obviously indisposed.

Hurt is the first of several familiar faces “The Last Full Measure” pulls out like aces from a stacked deck. Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd show up as Pitsenbarger’s parents Frank and Alice, and the men he saved are well played in their present-day incarnations by Ed Harris , John Savage , Samuel L. Jackson and Peter Fonda in one of his last roles. Each is given a flashback sequence and some of that aforementioned ripe dialogue. I began to tire of the flashbacks—they’re not bad, they’re just repetitive and would have been more effective presented as one major set-piece rather than interspersed throughout for unnecessary suspense—but my interest in those monologues never waned.

In his few scenes, Fonda is especially good. His Jimmy Burr is a still-traumatized man who has slept during the day for 32 years due to his unshakeable fear of the night. His protective wife Donna ( Amy Madigan ) sees right through Huffman’s insincerity when he comes to interview Jimmy, warning him that this vet does not suffer fools gladly. Jimmy Burr is the type of character who can easily be overplayed, but Fonda finds the right note between stoicism and madness that is truly haunting. Burr punctuates every sentence he speaks to Huffman with “sir,” and the way he says it hovers somewhere between an affectation and a threat. He even sells one of the movie’s pulpiest lines with gusto: After Huffman asks if Burr’s gun is loaded, and receiving a demonstration of the affirmative, Burr yells “an unloaded gun is just a stick!”

Jackson is also very good here as Takoda. Like Fonda, he walks a fine line of menace without going over the top. At first antagonistic toward Huffman, Takoda gradually warms to him once he realizes that this may be the last chance for cancer-stricken Frank to see his son earn the MOH before he dies. Takoda and Frank share a scene of quiet power where the former, in a state of guilt-stricken grief over a specific battle incident, calls the latter and can’t bring himself to speak. This is apparently a common occurrence. “Did he say anything?” asks Alice. “He never does,” replies Frank. Takoda and Tulley most strongly represent the film’s examination of survivor’s guilt and both are given scenes that reflect their anguish.

You may have noticed that I’ve said very little about William Pitsenbarger. “The Last Full Measure” misses the opportunity to flesh him out, to give us more insight into who he was. As played by Jeremy Irvine , he is certainly heroic and the actor’s good looks and affable manner serve as a form of cinematic character shorthand for someone for whom we should root. But he’s mostly defined by the tales told by everyone else and as such remains a mystery held at arms length. This may have been Robinson’s intention, to keep him a bit enigmatic as a form of respect, but I wish I could have spent more time hearing from Pitsenbarger directly. Without that, he feels like a ghost haunting his own story.

Odie Henderson

Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

The Last Full Measure (2020)

Samuel L. Jackson as Takoda

Sebastian Stan as Scott Huffman

Jeremy Irvine as William Pitsenbarger

Christopher Plummer as Franky Pitsenbarger

Bradley Whitford as Carlton Stanton

Ed Harris as Ray Mott

Michael Imperioli as Jay Ford

Diane Ladd as Alice Pitsenbarger

Linus Roache as Whit Peters

Todd Robinson

Cinematographer

Byron Werner
Claudia Castello
Terel Gibson
Richard Nord
Philip Klein

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The Last Full Measure review – half-hearted salute to an American hero

Samuel L Jackson and Peter Fonda add heft to this by-the-numbers story of a Vietnam medic’s posthumous appreciation

H ere’s a true story about a young soldier’s exceptional bravery and sacrifice made into a pretty average war movie, insubstantial and TV-ish despite the appearance of some decorated Hollywood veterans.

William Pitsenbarger was a 21-year-old air force medic killed on the battlefield in Vietnam in 1966 while nursing wounded soldiers – he had refused to be evacuated by helicopter. Writer-director Todd Robinson focuses on the campaign to get Pitsenbarger posthumously awarded America’s highest military award, the medal of honor. It’s an earnest film made with the best of intentions, but will perhaps be remembered as the last role for Peter Fonda , who plays a Vietnam vet with PTSD.

Set mostly in the late 90s, it follows a flashy and ambitious Pentagon staffer, Scott Huffmann (Sebastian Stan), who is ordered to gather witness statements to Pitsenbarger’s heroism. The nod from top brass is not to push too hard for the medal, and Huffmann barely bothers to hide his boredom interviewing veterans. An air force buddy (William Hurt) remembers Pitsenbarger as an idealistic young man who wanted to make a difference. Samuel L Jackson is the officer whose men he rescued. Ed Harris and Fonda are soldiers he saved. These heavyweight actors, playing men still coming to terms with how their adult lives have been scarred by war, add emotional depth and dignity absent from the script. Jeremy Irvine is Pitsenbarger himself in battlefield flashbacks.

The clock is ticking to get the medal while Pitsenbarger’s elderly parents are still alive (moving performances from Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd). Of course, Huffmann the cynic wrestles with his conscience before deciding – to hell with his career! – to fight all-out for Pitsenbarger. It’s an emotional journey that feels contrived and not remotely believable, cheapening the movie. And pity poor Alison Sudol, who plays Huffmann’s pregnant wife in what might be the wife-iest role of the year so far: all that’s required of her character is to stroke her baby bump and gaze adoringly at her husband.

The Last Full Measure is on digital platforms from 1 June.

US military
Peter Fonda
Samuel L Jackson
Christopher Plummer

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‘The Last Full Measure’: Film Review

Todd Robinson’s manipulative, if moving, drama recounts the campaign to honor a Vietnam War hero 30 years after his valiant death.

By Nick Schager

Nick Schager

Film Critic

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The story of William Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescue medic who risked his life in Vietnam to aid his comrades, as well as the decades-later efforts of fellow vets to see him posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, is undeniably moving — which goes a long way toward explaining how Todd Robinson enlisted an all-star cast (including Peter Fonda , in his final screen performance) for “The Last Full Measure.” No amount of marquee talent, however, can fully compensate for the inert melodrama peddled by this inspired-by-true-events film, which recounts the 1999 campaign to see Pitsenbarger properly feted. Alternately affecting and cloying, it should attract attention courtesy of its A-list roster, but long-term prospects seem limited at best.

“The Last Full Measure” concerns ambitious Dept. of Defense staffer Scott Huffman ( Sebastian Stan ), who bristles at what he believes is a thankless assignment: reviewing a petition to get Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine) the Medal of Honor for his valor on April 11, 1966, when — during a catastrophically bloody clash with Vietcong forces — he descended into the maelstrom to help patch up, and support, the “Big Red One” army battalion fighting to stay alive on the ground. Pitsenbarger didn’t survive this mission, and for the past 30-plus years, retired Air Force Sgt. Tom Tulley ( William Hurt ) — who was by Pitsenbarger’s side that day — and Pitsenbarger’s father Frank ( Christopher Plummer ) and mother Alice ( Diane Ladd ) have worked tirelessly to see that he receive his proper due.

Huffman is instructed by his self-interested boss Carlton Stanton ( Bradley Whitford ) to do the bare minimum and then dump the job on their incoming replacements (Pentagon turnover is inevitable thanks to a change in administrations). Yet the more he meets with Army vets rescued by Pitsenbarger, the more Huffman understands their wartime grief, survivor’s guilt, and trauma — and, by extension, the borderline-miraculous gallantry of Pitsenbarger. In encounters with gruff Billy Takoda ( Samuel L. Jackson ), PTSD-afflicted Jimmy Burr (Fonda), ashamed Ray Mott ( Ed Harris ), and Kurtzian Vietnam resident Chauncy Kepper (John Savage), Huffman learns to appreciate military camaraderie and sacrifice, and in doing so, becomes possessed with a desire to right this historical wrong — no matter that his crusade might have disastrous consequences for his own career.

In relatively brief turns, “The Last Full Measure’s” illustrious actors (also joined by Amy Madigan and Linus Roache) treat their characters’ tormented plights with heartfelt solemnity. Unfortunately, director Robinson rarely misses an opportunity to tug insistently on viewers’ heartstrings. That’s mainly done via Philip Klein’s score, which drowns every other moment in excessive sentimentality, although the filmmaker’s fondness for momentous slow-motion — often to catch soldiers sharing meaningful glances in battle — is also to blame. At least the frequent, washed-out flashbacks to Pitsenbarger’s Vietnam exploits convey the chaotic hell of war, all while contextualizing Jackson, Fonda, Harris, and Hurt’s’ ongoing anguish over their compatriot’s demise, and their own combat failings.

A few subtle comments lend “The Last Full Measure” a spiritual element, casting Huffman’s toil on behalf of honor and justice as a righteous undertaking. Such notions, however, prove secondary to the film’s basic goal of celebrating a serviceman whose selfless bravery touched the lives of countless individuals. That limited objective may keep Robinson’s drama from having much in the way of nuance or surprise, or any larger interest in critiquing the justness of the Vietnam War itself. But it nonetheless also results in a reverential — and occasionally poignant — tribute to a legitimate hero.

Reviewed at Dolby 88, New York, January 21, 2020. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 115 MIN.

Production: A Roadside Attractions release of a Foresight Unlimited, Timothy Scott Bogart/Mark Damon production, in association with Provocator, SSS Entertainment, BCL Finance Group. Producers: Timothy Scott Bogart, Mark Damon, Robert Reed Peterson, Nick Cafritz, Shaun Sanghani, Sidney Sherman, Peter Jákl. Executive producers: Lisa Wolofsky, Michael Laundon, Lisa Osinloye, Simone White, Ali Jazayeri, Matthew Helderman. Co-producer: Travis Aaronwade. Co-executive producers: Alan Pao, Larissa E. Michel, Jason Cormier, Stephen Morgenstern, David Winter.
Crew: Director, writer: Todd Robinson. Camera: Byron Werner. Editor: Richard Nord, Terel Gibson, Claudia Castello. Music: Philip Klein.
With: Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson , Dale Dye, Peter Fonda, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Jeremy Irvine, Diane Ladd, Amy Madigan, Linus Roache, John Savage, Alison Sudol, Bradley Whitford.

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The Last Full Measure Reviews

A do-the-right-thing film that lacks technical savvy but makes up for it with well-earned manipulation.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 23, 2022

Can you see the gears turning during these scenes? Sure. But I can’t deny their effect, and Robinson is clearly sharing something he cares about.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 23, 2022

The emotional manipulation is still there, undoubtedly, but the tactics do find a way of working and are well executed.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 5, 2022

How can a film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Plummer and Ed Harris be this dull?

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 29, 2021

Ultimately, The Last Full Measure doesn't reach the level of an exceptional drama, but its heart is in the right place, and it offers a well-told story - one likely to resonate strongly with those affected one way or another by war.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 28, 2021

As well-intentioned as the film's messages of respect for the sacrifices of the fallen are, The Last Full Measure succumbs to melodrama at almost every turn.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 30, 2021

The writing remains honest to the true events and gives its viewers and protagonists a befitting closure...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 27, 2021

The way the story is told is fresh, the violence is not sensationalized at all, and the acting is top-notch.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 27, 2021

A talented cast of famous faces aren't quite enough to pull this war-time tale out of the mud of corny cliche.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 28, 2020

It stands out for its top-notch cast of stars (who all deliver convincing performances) and the fact that Vietnam War stories about the U.S. Air Force are rarely told in movies.

Full Review | Jul 13, 2020

A powerhouse cast lends gravitas to this fact-based drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 11, 2020

Even with the stellar cast, it diminishes the overall impact of this remarkable tale of heroism.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 7, 2020

Boasting a powerhouse cast, The Last Full Measure has the best of intentions, to celebrate servicemen without condoning war, but winds up with little else.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 3, 2020

A solid, well-made and occasionally very moving piece of work.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 28, 2020

Here's a true story about a young soldier's exceptional bravery and sacrifice made into a pretty average war movie, insubstantial and TV-ish despite the appearance of some decorated Hollywood veterans.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 28, 2020

In his final role, Fonda is given room to be wonderful - and so, of course, he is.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 27, 2020

'The Last Full Measure' is a great and yet tragic story of a man who saved sixty lives in Vietnam. As a former military veteran, I can't help but feel a connection to this great film.

Full Review | Original Score: 9.2/10 | Apr 17, 2020

The Last Full Measure takes war films to a whole new level. Filled with heart and a close up look at the horrors on and off the field, it's a must see.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 14, 2020

This movie was made for a specific audience -- vets, current military and their families. Many movies uplifting vets can reach a wide audience, not this one. However, I loved seeing talented actors from the 70's that have been ignored for years.

Full Review | Original Score: 4 | Mar 9, 2020

One of the strengths of Todd Robinson's film lies in the casting of a gallery of fine actors in almost every role.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 3, 2020

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‘The Last Full Measure’ Review: A Hero’s Long Road to Glory

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

As filmmaking, The Last Full Measure stumbles under the bumpy pacing and deck-stacking of writer-director Todd Robinson ( Phantom ). But the film gets up and pushes forward owing to Robinson’s passion to get this true story told. The subject is William Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a U.S. Air Force pararescue jumper (also known as a PJ) who personally saved 60 men during a Vietnam rescue mission on April 11, 1966. When offered a chance to save his own ass by taking the last chopper out of the bloody combat known as Operation Abilene, Pitsenbarger chose instead to stay behind to aid the evacuation of wounded soldiers in the U.S. Army’s 1st Infantry Division. For losing his own life to enemy sniper fire, Pits — as the soldiers affectionately called him — was awarded a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” beyond the call of duty.

It’s a hell of tale. But instead of telling it full-out, Robinson marshals his forces toward another tale, one of conspicuous injustice. Yes, Pits was awarded the Medal of Honor, but not until December 8th, 2000, decades after his bravery was officially recorded. The hows and whys of that delay, including coverups and institutional corruption, is the core of The Last Full Measure . Robinson’s blood is up, understandably, but in resorting to Hollywood shortcuts and considerable dramatic license, Robinson has reduced the valor of Pits to flashbacks in favor of foregrounding the detective story that finally won this indisputable hero his due.

Enter Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan), a Pentagon investigator who’s put on the case of deciding whether Pits actually deserves his country’s highest honor, rare indeed for an enlisted airman. Huffman is a careerist who resents his boss, Carlton Stanton (Bradley Whitford), for giving him what he considers the busy work of interviewing the surviving soldiers saved by Pits. With a wife (Alison Sudol) and family to support, Huffman is eager to climb up the next rung of the D.C. ladder. But as he begins to speak with the soldiers, many suffering with PTSD, Huffman finds his life changed in fundamental ways.

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Stan, best known for playing Winter Solider Bucky Barnes in the MCU, is a solid actor hemmed in by portraying a composite character based on Robinson’s research. His slow enlightenment is meant to be ours as Huffman begins to see the extent of Pits’ heroism, the physical and emotional toll inflicted by war on those he rescued, and the government’s self-serving attempt to sweep his accomplishment under the carpet due to a scandalous incident of friendly fire that Huffman’s investigation would expose.

An A-list cast of Oscar winners and nominees has been recruited for these roles. And there’s no questioning the talents of William Hurt as Tully, Pits’ best friend, Samuel L. Jackson as the guilt-ridden Takoda, Ed Harris as the reclusive Mott, The Deer Hunter ’s John Savage as the haunted Kepper, and especially the late Peter Fonda in his final role as a former soldier who has still not adjusted to life after wartime. These damaged men are willing to open painful old wounds not for themselves or even a piece of ribbon for Pits, but for his parents, Frank (Christopher Plummer) and Alice (Diane Ladd) — both superb — who have spent decades trying to win their son the public honor he so richly deserves.

Robinson has a tendency to hit his points hard, robbing the film of subtlety and moral complexity in exchange for fueling righteous indignation in the audience. Irvine plays Pits with unvarying valor, seldom letting human elements of doubt and vulnerability intrude on his purpose. The moral quagmire of Vietnam is sidestepped in favor of shining a light on heroism. The film’s title comes from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, in which the Civil War president honored the sacrifice of those who — like Pits — gave “the last full measure of devotion.” Robinson’s film only hints at the corruption embedded in a system meant to ensure Lincoln’s ideal of a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Robinson means to leave you in tears, no matter how heavy-handed his approach. But the sentimental ending that suggests all loose ends have been tied up does a disservice to the battle ahead and a war still to be won in the name of the people left to pick up the pieces.

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DVD & Streaming

The Last Full Measure

Drama , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

January 24, 2020
Jeremy Irvine as William Pitsenbarger; Sebastian Stan as Scott Huffman; Alison Sudol as Tara Huffman; Christopher Plummer as Frank Pitsenbarger; Diane Ladd as Alice Pitsenbarger; Samuel L. Jackson as Billy Takoda; Ser'Darius Blain as Young Takoda; William Hurt as Tully; Ethan Russell as Young Tully; Ed Harris as Ray Mott; Zach Roerig as Young Ray Mott; Peter Fonda as Jimmy Burr; James Jagger as Young Jimmy Burr; Amy Madigan as Donna Burr; Dale Dye as Holt; Richard Cawthorne as Young Holt; Hannah Black as Young Jenny; Rachel Harker as Older Jenny; John Savage as Kepper; Cody Walker as Young Kepper

Home Release Date

April 7, 2020
Todd Robinson

Distributor

Roadside Attractions

Movie Review

The Medal of Honor represents the highest decoration a member of the United States Armed Forces can receive. Since the award’s inception in 1861, it has had 3,498 recipients.

Just 18 of Medals of Honor have been awarded to members of the Air Force. And of those, only three were enlisted men.

William Pitsenbarger was one of those men. He was awarded that honor on Dec. 8, 2000—more than 34 years after he gave his life rescuing and protecting his fellow soldiers in a bloody ambush near Cam My in the early days of the Vietnam conflict.

The Last Full Measure recounts two stories: the story of what happened that terrible day, April 11, 1966, on which William Pitsenbarger saved so many at the cost of his own life; and the story of the decades-long battle waged by those who survived to see that Pitsenbarger’s heroic courage and sacrifice on their behalf was formally recognized.

Positive Elements

The Last Full Measure revolves around the courage of William Pitsenbarger. But his story is told largely from the perspective of someone who didn’t fight in Vietnam, an ambitious young lawyer named Scott Huffman. At first, Scott doesn’t care a whit about whether the fallen airman ever receives the award. But one of Pitsenbarger’s fellow airmen, Tully, persistently presses the case. He refuses to let it go. And it falls to Scott to investigate whether or not Pitsenbarger should be officially recommended for the Medal of Honor.

Grudgingly at first, Scott begins to dig into the story of what happened more than three decades before. But doing so requires interviewing survivors. And so he seeks them out, one by one. Every one of them is deeply scarred by the events of that day. Every one of them regrets choices they made. Every one of them must face his own inner demons to tell Scott his story.

There’s Billy Takoda, the squad leader who was badly wounded and whose errors in judgment perhaps led to more deaths. There’s Jimmy Burr, an eager soldier who takes a bullet to the head in the battle but survives, though he’s horribly haunted by PTSD and hasn’t slept at night since the war. Gruff Ray Mott drives a bus now. Like all of these veterans, he speaks reluctantly as a man haunted by others’ deaths and his own survival.

Scott also meets William Pitsenbarger’s parents, Frank and Alice. They’ve not touched his bedroom since 1966. They long for recognition for their son, though they also take comfort in the fact that their boy’s character and courage saved so many.

With each interview, each revelation, Scott becomes more invested in the assignment he’s been given. In fact, investigating Pitsenbarger’s sacrifice slowly begins to transform him and change his motivations, as well as making him take his marriage and fatherhood more seriously. In the end, he becomes more committed to serving the fallen airman’s memory than he is advancing his own career. And his own courage in confronting an influential veteran who’s now a senator proves key to finally seeing William Pitsenbarger posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The film focuses, obviously, on Pitsenbarger’s story. But it also painfully and poignantly helps us to see how the war affected surviving veterans. Takoda tells him of the wounds inflicted by his fellow Americans after the war. “I was a refugee in my own country,” he says. “And that hurt way more than bullets.”

We see that William was raised by devout, character-filled parents. When Scott asks them if they ever regretted their son’s patriotic determination to serve his country, Alice Pitsenbarger replies, “You can’t teach your children values and then just withdraw them because of what you might lose. … Bill honored all of us by serving, and it’s no small thing.”

His father, Frank, says of his young son going to war, “I was never so frightened, and I was never so proud.” Frank goes on to recount, in his son’s bedroom, all the things he misses, concluding, “But mostly I missed what I didn’t get to see him do: marry, fall in love with a child of his own. Only then would he understand how much his father loved him.”

In his quest for information, Scott eventually travels to Vietnam to meet another veteran who now lives there, a man named Kepper. He’s become something of a hermit philosopher whose mission is to help veterans who come to visit him to make peace with their horrific past.

Ultimately, this film emphasizes not only sacrifice, courage and bravery, but the incredible difference one person can make.

Spiritual Elements

Frank Pitsenbarger says grace before Thanksgiving dinner. More than once, William Pitsenbarger is compared to an angel because of the way he descended from an Air Force helicopter and helped to save so many.

Similarly, it’s not hard to see Pitsenbarger as a kind of Christ figure here. He comes down from above to give his life for men he doesn’t even know. And even though he could have chosen to leave at any time, he doesn’t, heroically saving and rescuing many of the Army soldiers around him. Indeed, these men are incredulous that an Air Force medic would so courageously risk and ultimately give his life to save them.

We see that Kepper has embraced a syncretistic spirituality. He talks of prayer, and we glimpse a statue of the Buddha, lit incense sticks and painting of Mary. We also hear how soldiers prayed to survive during the battle.

Early on, Scott jokes about his meetings that day to his wife, calling them “today’s adventures in post-traumatic exorcism.” Takoda says “I wish to God” things could have been different that day.

Sexual Content

Scott’s wife, Tara, wears a nightgown and robe that reveal a bit of cleavage. She and Scott kiss.

We hear of the deep love between Pitsenbarger and his girl back in the States, Jenny.

Violent Content

Multiple flashbacks picture the battle at the heart of the story. We repeatedly see combatants on both sides shot and killed. Many others are hurled through the air as victims of grenades and artillery.

Most of the casualties aren’t terribly graphic or gory. But there are exceptions. We briefly see the spilled entrails of one Viet Cong fighter after he’s shot. Takoda is shot multiple times in the back, and we see Pitsenbarger working to staunch the bleeding from one enormous bullet hole. Another soldier’s leg has been ravaged. Still another is shot in the head. Multiple wounded and bloodied soldiers are airlifted up in a litter.

Soldiers scream in terror and pain. Viet Cong walk among the fallen, shooting bodies to make sure that soldiers who appear dead actually are. (In one case, an American pretending to be dead is shot and killed.) A soldier’s first kill is crudely compared to losing one’s virginity. Americans shoot Vietnamese out of sniper nests in trees, and their bodies plunge to the ground.

Back in the present, Jimmy only gets up at night (because he’s too frightened to sleep while it’s dark). He carries a loaded shotgun and fires it into the air when Scott asks if it’s loaded. We also see Jimmy kill what appears to be a rabbit with his bare hands. His wife says of him, “Every day, he finds the courage not to stick a gun in his mouth.” Likewise, Takoda takes a long look at pistol in a drawer, perhaps suggesting his own struggles with the temptation of taking his own life.

Crude or Profane Language

We hear about 10 f-words and a dozen or so s-words. God’s name is misused a dozen times, 10 of which are paired with “d–n.” Jesus name is abused five times. “H—” is used about a dozen times. And we hear one or two uses each of “a–,” “a–hole” and “p-ssed.”

Characters make three crude references to the male or female anatomy. Someone is jokingly called a “pimp.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

One scene pictures people drinking at a meal. Pitsenbarger repeatedly administers battlefield drugs via syringe to help the wounded. Tokada recounts the details of a drunken bar fight. We see him smoking a cigarette, too.

Other Negative Elements

Scott gradually uncovers information that implies Pitsenbarger was denied the Medal of Honor because awarding it was linked to revelations of soldiers dying due to friendly fire and tactical incompetence.

One politician in particular is more interested in making self-protective, expedient choices than doing the right thing. He threatens to wreck Scott’s career if he doesn’t do likewise.

After seeing the eviscerated corpse of a man he’s shot and killed, an American soldier vomits. We see two men (from behind) urinating in a bathroom.

Movies about Vietnam often focus on the graphic horror of it. There may be heroes in these stories, but more often than not, these films—such as Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter —leave us feeling emotionally depleted and numbed by what we’ve witnessed. They’re often stories of savagery and senselessness and nihilism, with hope and meaning and purpose in short supply.

The Last Full Measure certainly depicts the vicious brutality of close combat. While not as graphically violent as, say, Hacksaw Ridge or Saving Private Ryan, we still get a front-row seat to the war’s carnage. Those images, paired with soldiers’ occasional harsh profanity, make this a tough story to watch at times.

But unlike the stereotypical Vietnam movie, The Last Full Measure brims with hope and meaning amid its story of sacrifice. William Pitsenbarger’s sacrifice is tragic. But we see how giving his life has impacted so many others. And we’re reminded of the cost so many have paid to preserve our freedom.

This R-rated war movie obviously won’t be for everyone. But for those who choose to see it, I can’t imagine walking out of the theater with a dry eye or without a deeper sense of gratitude for those who’ve proudly and bravely served in our Armed Forces.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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‘The Last Full Measure’ review: Star-studded cast elevates tale of Vietnam War hero

Movie review.

In the Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln paid tribute to those who fought and died for their cause, to which they “gave the last full measure of devotion.” Lincoln’s description of the ultimate sacrifice provides the title for Todd Robinson’s “The Last Full Measure,” which depicts the long quest to award Air Force pararescue medic William Pitsenbarger the Medal of Honor 34 years after he perished in the Vietnam War.

The Medal of Honor, the military’s highest distinction, has been awarded to just over 3,500 service members who have distinguished themselves with extraordinary acts of valor in combat since the Civil War. “The Last Full Measure” is about the significance of the decoration, but as the story unfolds, it’s clear it’s as much about the journey as it is the destination.

It’s so important to his surviving Air Force buddies and the Army soldiers he rescued that Pitsenbarger receive this Medal of Honor, an upgrade from the Air Force Cross he initially received, that they spend three decades in pursuit of the distinction. By 1999, they eventually get the file on the desk of D.C. bureaucrat Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan), who is saddled with the task of pushing through the Medal of Honor request before Pitsenbarger’s dying father (Christopher Plummer) passes away. What at first seems like an onerous task to the ambitious (and a bit snarky) Scott soon becomes a cathartic emotional exploration and bonding experience for the veterans who remain prisoners to their own painful memories of war.

The process of putting together the Medal of Honor file becomes a way to clean out the emotional wounds, as Scott bears witness to the men reckoning with their past. At the behest of Pitsenbarger’s friend Tulley (William Hurt), Scott sets off to interview Army vets Billy (Samuel L. Jackson), Jimmie (the late Peter Fonda), Ray (Ed Harris) and Kepper (John Savage), whom Pitsenbarger helped to save in Vietnam during the bloody Operation Abilene.

In a series of messy and chaotic flashbacks, the story of Pitsenbarger’s heroism unfolds: Sent to rescue a battalion of men pinned down in the jungle by the Viet Cong, the 21-year-old Air Force medic lowered himself to the ground to treat the wounded and fight off the enemy, waving away the helicopter as it tried to pick him up.

It’s a shame the flashbacks are so harried, as the gravity of Pitsenbarger’s actions could have landed more fully with the audience. It’s also sidetracked by an underdeveloped storyline about the misguided nature of Operation Abilene and the reasons for that. But fundamentally, “The Last Full Measure” is about the healing process for the veterans and Pitsenbarger’s parents as they pursue recognition for their friend, son and hero. Although the script and aesthetic are rather melodramatic and oftentimes overly sentimental, the star-studded cast elevates the material with nuanced performances.

What one walks away with from “The Last Full Measure” isn’t necessarily the heroism of Pitsenbarger, though his personal sacrifice was immense. What the film reveals is the deep shame and trauma vets contend with, as survivors who made it out alive, as fallible and flawed men who did their best under extreme violence and duress and have to live with those choices for the rest of their lives. What “The Last Full Measure” demonstrates is how powerful it can be to shed light on these experiences, through testimony, bearing witness and, yes, ceremonial recognition.

★★½ “The Last Full Measure,” with Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, Samuel L. Jackson, William Hurt, Peter Fonda, John Savage, Jeremy Irvine, Diane Ladd. Written and directed by Todd Robinson. 110 minutes. Rated R for war violence, and language. Opens Jan. 24 at multiple theaters.

The Last Full Measure Review

01 Jun 2020

The Last Full Measure

Titled after a line from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, The Last Full Measure is sincere and heartfelt but consistently hamstrung by cliché and inertia. In trying to honour the true-life bravery of a young American soldier who sacrificed himself while saving the lives of upwards of 60 men, it serves up a solemn, sober, revisionist Vietnam flick that lacks both the dramatic chops or storytelling nuance to elevate it into something compelling.

Writer-director Todd Robinson, best known for penning Ridley Scott sailing drama White Squall , runs the story along two timelines. It starts in 1999 as Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman ( Sebastian Stan , bemused) is charged with the job of investigating the story of Vietnam hero William H. Pitsenbarger ( Jeremy Irvine ) who, after heroic Forrest Gump-like life-saving efforts, was never awarded a congressional Medal Of Honor. Brought by Pitsenbarger’s parents ( Christopher Plummer , Diane Ladd ) and army colleague Tom Tulley (a strong William Hurt ), the investigation sees Huffman interview jaded veterans played by good actors — crotchety Billy Takoda ( Samuel L. Jackson ), shamed Ray Mott ( Ed Harris ) and PTSD-afflicted Jimmy Burr ( Peter Fonda in his last role) — who should have better taste while being pressured to bury his findings by his boss Carlton Stanton ( Bradley Whitford , lively) to save everyone’s blushes.

This is interspersed with flashbacks to the war zone, built around combat sequences that feel cheap and run-of-the-mill (slow-motion glances between soldiers abound and everything is hyped by Philip Klein’s score) featuring younger actors who look nothing like their older counterparts. Combined with the procedural plot-line that is meandering and on-the-nose, and The Last Full Measure emerges as a well-meaning if dated hymn to fallen soldiers in a senseless conflict.

The Last Full Measure (2019)

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Movie Review – The Last Full Measure (2020)

January 24, 2020 by Robert Kojder

The Last Full Measure , 2020.

Written and Directed by Todd Robinson Starring Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irvine, Peter Fonda, Bradley Whitford, Alison Sudol, John Savage, Diane Ladd, Linus Roache, Max Gail, Byron Mann, Michael Imperioli, Zach Roerig, Amy Madigan, LisaGay Hamilton, Cody Walker, Ser’Darius Blain, Dale Dye, Travis Aaron Wade, James Jagger, and Richard Cawthorne

Thirty-four years after his death, Airman William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr. (“Pits”) is awarded the nation’s highest military honor, for his actions on the battlefield.

Someone on the Internet recently suggested that war movies serve no purpose because history isn’t going to change and that the stories always end the same way. Obviously, that statement is asinine (just another day on the Internet, really), but The Last Full Measure has come along at an appropriate time to unintentionally function as both a solid movie and retort to that ridiculous notion. This isn’t so much a straight-up guns-and-glory action epic (although there are flashback sequences that expand on the past and present) but a study of just how war psychologically damages its victims in different ways.

30 years removed from the Vietnam War, Airman William H. Pitsenbarger (as played by Jeremy Irvine during the massacre on April 11th, 1966) has yet to receive a Medal of Honor despite demonstrating unfathomable heroism, throwing himself into the line of fire serving as both fighter and medic for his allies in the midst of a situation that was pretty much FUBAR before it even began. Based on a true story (absolutely with liberties taken, given the extreme sentimentality on display which unfortunately diminishes how effective the film could have been), William’s father Frank (Christopher Plummer) is slowly dying of a terminal illness, meaning the family and acquaintances (he didn’t even know the men he saved) of the fallen soldier (who did indeed perish during that horrifying battle) are stepping up putting the pressure on Washington to do the right thing, review the paperwork, and posthumously bestow upon him the most revered accolade any American servicemember could ever be awarded.

Department of Defense lawyer Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan) is tasked with the assignment, which he initially views as beneath him, but tackles anyway as his job stability is currently fluctuating due to some shakeups. Much like the random person on the Internet I referenced earlier, Scott doesn’t seem to fully grasp why this matters, although slowly begins to as he goes around interviewing the individuals associated with William during that bloody battle. Yes, it’s simplistic and straightforward character development, but that’s fine. The real characters worth exploring are the veterans; the ones with stories to tell.

Even if this does make for a somewhat repetitive narrative structure, all of these characters were affected by William’s actions differently and have their own personal forms of PTSD following the Vietnam War. Boasting an ensemble cast with iconic faces such as Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, Ed Harris, and more, The Last Full Measure shows us the humanity of these people. One is incapable of sleeping at night, another feels like a failure for not having the courage to deliver a letter, and one of them even feels directly responsible for placing William into the situation that led to his eventual death. Some of them are miserable but still able to interact with their own families, whereas others are just flat-out miserable and unable to properly function in day-to-day life. As they reflect on what happened, the details of the battle also evolve with new revelations, which is just enough to keep it interesting as the start-and-stop presentation of the war violence generally prevents it from ever reaching great intensity.

Scott’s quest for justice (he grows more attached to the case and people as he progresses, putting him at odds with one of his coworkers as played by Bradley Whitford) takes him all the way to Southeast Asia, essentially in the location the battle took place. Without spoiling it, what a specific character has done to the area (also give credit to writer and director Todd Robinson for bringing the locale to life), is a thing of beauty. It’s the contemplative moment that transcends The Last Full Measure beyond its mushy feel-good tone into a genuinely thoughtful piece of work regarding the many ways lives are lost and reshaped following the horrors of war. The sentimentality eventually becomes overbearing during the final 20 minutes, but in another way, the melodrama feels earned. Peter Fonda is best in show with a scene towards the end that is absolutely devastating, succinctly summing up why these stories need to continue to be told.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd , check out my personal non-Flickering Myth affiliated Patreon , or email me at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca3ynjRQ738

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other VVA National President Jack McManus Testifies Before Joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

‘The Last Full Measure’: What is Real and What is Not

Review by Marc Leepson, VVA Veteran Arts Editor and Senior Writer

The Last Full Measure , the fact-based Vietnam War-heavy movie that opened nationwide on January 24, 2020, features a five-pack of big-time Baby Boomer male actors playing Vietnam War veterans.

William Hurt, 70, offers up Tulley, an intense, troubled USAF vet, using many of the mannerisms he displayed in his portrayal of the troubled, impotent Nam vet Nick in the classic 1983 movie, The Big Chill .
Samuel L. Jackson, 71, as Takoda, is his usual intense self, as a troubled, one-time Army infantry LT still haunted by flashbacks from the catastrophic engagement that’s at the center of the film.
Ed Harris, 69, is a cranky codger who drives a school bus and stumbles along life’s path primarily because of something he didn’t do during the battle in question.
Peter Fonda, who died at 79 last August, gives us Jimmy Burr, a mentally disturbed former infantryman scarred so deeply that he has retreated to a cabin deep in the woods where he sleeps during the day and hunts his demons toting a rifle when he’s awake at night.
John Savage, 70, is Kepper, who also lives in the woods, but back in Vietnam, where he has found inner peace battling his combat-induced trauma with the help of deep breathing—and butterflies.

The other Vietnam War veteran character in the film is played by a real Nam vet, the great Dale Dye, 75, who also served as one of the movie’s three military technical advisers. Dye and former USAF Vietnam War Para-rescue MSG James Pighini and retired Marine SMAJ James Dever were responsible for the movie’s brutally realistic Vietnam War battle scenes. Dye plays a U.S. Senator who made a mistake during his tour of duty, but whose honor and honesty redeems him four decades later.

Not coincidentally, each of these AARP-member actors has played at least one Vietnam War veteran on the silver screen.

‘INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY’

Todd Robinson, who wrote and directed The Last Full Measure, has created a movie that, in Hollywood parlance, is “inspired by a true story.” What we get in this partly true and partly fictitious movie is both inspiring and deflating and both heartwarming and cloying.

The true story is the inspiring part. Here are the facts:

William H. “Pits” Pitsenbarger joined the Air Force when he was nineteen in 1963. He volunteered for USAF Special Warfare as a Pararescue specialist, one of the most dangerous jobs in any war. He went to Vietnam in 1965 and served in the 38 th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron based at Bien Hoa Air Base, and took part in more than 250 missions.

During a horrific firefight on April 11, 1966, Airman 1 st Class Pitsenbarger and his crew came to the rescue of an encircled and outnumbered 2 nd Battalion/16th Infantry Regiment/1st Infantry Division company at the Battle of Xa Cam My in the jungles 35 miles east of Saigon. The company took 80 percent casualties, including 36 men killed in action in a VC ambush. When he learned that the company’s medic had been killed, Pits decided to try to help, rode the hoist a hundred feet into the heat of the battles, and descended into the fray.

On the ground, his Medal of Honor citation notes, “he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared for the wounded,” and “prepared casualties for evacuation.” Amid intense enemy fire, Pits personally rescued nine wounded men and refused to evacuate himself to try to get other wounded guys out of the fight. When sniper and mortar fire increased, Pits “took up arms with the besieged infantrymen.” He “repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which time he was wounded three times,” and then mortally wounded.

The movie flashes back and forth to the battle and to its psychological aftermath among the five men recounting the story in the late 1990s during the effort to upgrade Pits’ Air Force Cross (the second-highest USAF medal for courage under fire) to a Medal of Honor. The battle scenes, shot in Thailand, are hyper-realistic. That includes shots of war carnage, enough that any war veteran who’s experienced it may be discomfited by the up-close shots of spouting blood, dismemberment, violent death, and the deafeningly loud, insistent ordnance zinging and casings flying.

Those scenes ably show the MOH-worthy actions and valor of Pits (played more than capably by the recruiting-poster handsome English actor Jeremy Irvine) and the deadly onslaught the Big Red One infantrymen found themselves in.

That’s the good news about Last Full Measure .

NOT SO GOOD NEWS

The movie falls down, though, in most of the 1990s scenes, primarily the ones that Todd Robinson made up “inspired by” the true story of how Pits came to get the MOH. The biggest letdown is a completely fictional character, a power-hungry young man working his way up the DOD civilian ladder called Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan).

Sebastian Stan at The Wall

This guy begrudgingly takes up the job of investigating the MOH upgrade. Very begrudgingly. He all but sabotages the nomination to concentrate on getting himself a big promotion. But as the film grinds on, after interviewing Pits’ still-grieving parents (Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd) and talking to Hurt, Jackson, Harris, Fonda, and Savage, Huffman does a 180—choosing the right thing over careerism. It doesn’t hurt that he also gets a boot in the rear end to man up from his lovely wife.

After his unlikely change of heart Huffman runs into a Pentagon conspiracy dealing with friendly fire that’s never fully explained. Then there’s political drama on Capitol Hill, which ends only after Huffman convinces the senator Dye plays to join him in his quest. The bow gets neatly tied when (this gives nothing away) Huffman triumphs in the end. Said end: a sentimental, feel-good, tear-jerking scene that should be cited in the dictionary under “Hollywood ending.”

Huffman is (very) loosely based on a real-life hero, a young man named Parker Hayes who ran across Pits’ combat heroics working at the Airmen Memorial Museum in Suitland, Maryland, in 1997. After Hayes wrote up a synopsis of what Pits did, he heard from other Pararescue men and former Big Red One veterans of the battle who convinced him to help them work on an MOH upgrade.

Parker Hayes interviewed a dozen Army veterans of the battle—but not the individuals portrayed in the movie. They’re made-up composites. Hayes, who died at age 36 in 2009, submitted his research in 1999 to then Secretary of the Air Force Whit Peters, whose office finished the job. Pits’ parents received the posthumous Medal of Honor at a ceremony at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in December 2000.

Also on the negative side: an often-sappy score and more than a few one-dimensional characters: Amy Madigan, Fonda’s perpetually pissed-off wife; Harris’ grumpy, angry school bus driver; and a snarky, unprincipled Pentagon bad-guy civilian bureaucrat, for example. Plus there’s way too much speechifying masquerading as conversation.

Harris, locked and loaded

Then there’s the always-dicey question of the portrayal of the Vietnam War veterans. It’s an undisputed face that a disproportionate number of Nam vets in the combat arms have had difficult psychological problems since coming home. You wouldn’t be normal if you simply melted back into civilian life without post-traumatic issues. The truth also is that the overwhelming majority of Vietnam War veterans have successfully dealt with their emotional problems.

Four of the five Big Red One vets Robinson created have what could be described as PTSD, replete with nightmares, tears, and antisocial behavior. It’s no coincidence the one guy who doesn’t, John Savage, is the most fully flushed out character.

So, if you don’t care that a movie has unrealistic, made-up characters mixed in with very real battlefield action (albeit deftly presented) in a sentimental, feel-good weeper, head to your local multiplex and take in The Last Full Measure . Don’t forget to bring tissues.

January 27, 2020

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Home » Movies » Movie Reviews

The Last Full Measure review – a noble, flawed effort

The Last Full Measure is a “let’s do the right thing” picture that lacks an overall filmmaking savvy, but makes up for it with well-earned based- on- a- true- story manipulation. While director Todd Robinson’s latest film’s issues are evident, the cinematography winning the booby-prize here, the large number of the stacked cast carries its overall general tenor home by honoring its subject, William H. Pitsenbarger.

The film plays out over two time lines; t he first is told through the eyes of Pitsenbarger ( Mama Mia: Here We Go Again’s Jeremy Irvine) who was a member of the US Air Force Paratroopers and flew a rescue mission during the bloody Battle of Xa Cam My . His actions helped save 60 members of the U.S. Army’s 1st Infantry Division ( played by Ed Harris and Samuel L. Jackson decades later). The second jumps 30 years later with a yuppy- political type named Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan) who is given the task of investigating if Pitsenbarger should be awarded the Medal of Honor, and who is afraid this will derail his plans for a better political appointment in the very near future.

The film’s title refers to a line from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address; he talked about the soldiers who gave up their lives during that battle. That’s fitting here as Pitsenbarger was given a chance to catch the last helicopter out of that conflict, but stayed behind to save countless American lives. It is such a compelling story it’s too bad for the film’s aforementioned lack of savvy with its technical quality. It has the look and feel of religious or Christian films that have plagued the genre the past thirty-four years (last year’s Breakthrough was a nice change). That falls squarely on the shoulder of the cinematographer Byron Werner, with poor color grading, clear over-light exposure, and lack of foreground shots.

Robinson also wrote the script, who has a history of solid work, scribing one of Ridley Scott’s underrated films, White Squall . His work head is fairly bland and straightforward while ramping up gobs of unscrupulous melodrama of men and women still reeling with survivors’ guilt. I’m really not complaining too much about that, because the sacrifice our soldiers make is well earned. However, it rarely goes beneath the surface by trying to give so much screen time to its large cast, who do elevate the material; William Hurt is particularly strong here. Alison Subol plays Stan’s wife and is saddled in the cliched role of a wife whose sole purpose is to remind her husband how great he is and make sure he takes the path not taken for the greater good.

They said the only thing Dwight Eisenhower would have given up the presidency for was the Medal of Honor. We tend to forget the level of importance this honor bestows in the day and age of constant depictions with so much entertainment now at our fingertips. My point is this is an extraordinary story that is told overwhelmingly, too divided between timelines. Better use of time would have been exploring the political fight of unraveling the red tape to honor the American hero. That’s not to say you need to ignore the battle completely, but it’s the choice the filmmakers made and should have clarified its focus since Huffman is at its center (similar to the way Mr. Rogers takes a back seat in 2019’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ).

Still, it’s a noble effort, elevated by its all-star cast, and will win over most movie fans (which most people are). William H. Pitsenbarger, however, deserves better.

Article by Marc Miller

Marc Miller (also known as M.N. Miller) joined Ready Steady Cut in April 2018 as a Film and TV Critic, publishing over 1,600 articles on the website. Since a young age, Marc dreamed of becoming a legitimate critic and having that famous “Rotten Tomato” approved status – in 2023, he achieved that status.

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‘The Last Full Measure’ Review: Sebastian Stan and Ed Harris Lead a Bad War Movie With Good Intentions

David ehrlich.

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Editor’s note: This review was originally published during the film’s theatrical release, it hits VOD on Tuesday, April 21.

A stultifying reminder that bad movies are often made with the best intentions, Todd Robinson’s “ The Last Full Measure ” certainly can’t be faulted for the integrity of its mission. As unambiguous with its agenda as it is incoherent with its storytelling, this clumsy but star-studded passion project recounts the ultimate sacrifice of Vietnam War hero William Pitsenbarger, a 21-year-old U.S. Air Force Pararescue medic who forfeited his own life in order to save at least nine of his fellow soldiers. Although Pitsenbarger’s bravery was posthumously rewarded with Air Force Cross, several of the men he saved were left wondering why his actions didn’t merit a Medal of Honor. It would turn out to be a more complicated and nefarious mystery than any of them might have guessed — one that would take more than 30 years to untangle.

A USC professor and journeyman creative best known behind the camera for the 2013 submarine thriller “Phantom,” Robinson has long-identified Pitsenbarger’s saga as a lucid example of how this country so often fails its veterans — whether they come back home or not. Apolitical to a fault and determined to avoid even a whiff of jingoism, Robinson’s film strains to show how surviving a war can make you even more invisible than dying in one, but “The Last Full Measure” is such a mess from the moment it starts that it’s difficult to see any of its intentions clearly. This cut-rate military drama makes an admirable attempt to bridge the gap between the Vietnam War and the veterans it cut loose, but there’s no hope of reconciling the two in a film where each scene feels hopelessly disconnected from the ones that came before it, and every character feels cobbled together from the stiffest clichés that other war movies left for dead on the battlefield.

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Borrowing its approach from “Spotlight” and its title from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “The Last Full Measure” unfolds like a stiff procedural wrapped around some of the hokiest war re-creations in recent memory. The story begins in September 1999, when a fictional Pentagon staffer named Scott Huffman (a very bored Sebastian Stan ) is given the grunt work of investigating a Medal of Honor request on behalf of Pitsenbarger’s best friend and fellow pararescueman Sgt. Thomas Tulley (William Hurt, the only member of a stacked cast who’s consistently able to find something real in the fissures of this leaden screenplay). While Robinson’s script eventually becomes far too erratic to mine any genuine conflict from its clerical scenes, the film is still at its best when exploring the bureaucracy of valor; only in this mode does “The Last Full Measure” feel as though it’s encouraging us to look closer instead of making us cringe.

Things take a hard turn for the histrionic as soon as Scott hits the road on his wild goose chase, as the government middleman systemically visits an endless parade of two-dimensional archetypes who are willing to speak to Pitsenbarger’s heroism. Ed Harris , summoning every ounce of Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel energy he has left, pops up as one of the first interview subjects. A grizzled, misanthropic veteran who drives a school bus by day and chews on his survivor’s guilt by night, Ray Mott is the first of many different characters to surface and bark subtext right into the camera. There’s Samuel L. Jackson as Army vet Billy Takoda, who shows Scott the scars on his back and says things like “You never appreciate what American artillery can do until you see it kill your own people.”

And then there’s the late Peter Fonda , devoting his last screen performance to the role of a PTSD-afflicted vet who self-identifies as a vampire and uses a loaded shotgun as a walking stick. A certain stripe of ex-soldier might well identify with these haunted men, and Robinson deploys them all in the service of a movie about how supporting troops doesn’t require supporting the wars they fight, but seen in succession these caricatures are too hackneyed to feel like anything more than empty ciphers for their cause.

Few of these scenes contain information that meaningfully advances Scott’s goal, and all of them feel as though they were filmed during the actors’ lunch breaks on better jobs. It all builds to a bungled moment in which Scott visits a soldier named Kepper (John Savage) in contemporary Vietnam, and his steely bureaucratic veneer is shattered by a walk through a butterfly garden; imagine if the plastic bag scene from “American Beauty” were set atop a mass grave and you’ll be on the right track. Of course, by that point we’ve long since lost any sense of Scott’s emotional state, as the film’s patchwork editing swallows entire years in the span of a single cut (Scott’s wife is pregnant in one shot, only to be the mother of a toddler in the next).

The narrative flow is further disrupted by the numerous battle flashbacks, in which “War Horse” star Jeremy Irvine plays the young Pitsenbarger with a holy patina. Robinson clearly marshaled all the resources he could for this labor of love, but the money just wasn’t enough to support the full scope of his vision. The extensive (but fragmented) depictions of Pitsenbarger’s heroics are hokey in the extreme. Without the budget to recreate the full chaos of that fateful day, the battle footage doesn’t resemble a deadly ambush so much as it does a poorly directed Court TV dramatization of some kind. The actors chosen to play younger versions of Jackson, Hurt, Harris and the rest bear almost no resemblance to their adult counterparts, and the movie’s awkward structure actively conspires to muddle that connection.

Alas, there’s nothing the older cast can do about that. “You can’t change your past,” one of the elder statesman concludes, “but you can change your perspective on it.” He’s not wrong, and you want to support Robinson’s efforts to help along that cause, but “The Last Full Measure” is lost in the fog of war from the moment it starts.

Roadshow Attractions will release “The Last Full Measure” in theaters on January 24.

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The last full measure, common sense media reviewers.

Preachy script bogs down violent story of courage and valor.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Shows sacrifice and selflessness involved with war

Pits knew he was risking his life but stayed to he

Vietnam War scenes include many deaths by bullet s

Married couple occasionally embraces and kisses.

Frequent use of "f--k," "Jesus" (as an exclamation

Volvo, Jeep.

Adults smoke cigarettes and drink regularly.

Positive Messages

Shows sacrifice and selflessness involved with wartime military service. Values act of going above and beyond to help those who need it. Depicts veterans as worthy of respect and accolades -- as well as compassion and empathy, since they can be misunderstood and suffer from PTSD. Duty to country, family, fellow soldiers is a major theme.

Positive Role Models

Pits knew he was risking his life but stayed to help the infantry company, even though it wasn't his mission to do so. Mr. and Mrs. Pitsenbarger are a kind, patient, loving couple who want to honor their fallen son. The Vietnam veterans are all focused on making sure Pits is awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery. Huffman changes throughout the movie from being a smug, ambitious political appointee to a thoughtful, generous person.

Violence & Scariness

Vietnam War scenes include many deaths by bullet spray/explosion. Several close-ups of bloody mortal wounds and severe injuries, including multiple gunshots, compacted fractures, visible intestines. Bloody skirmish shows NVA soldiers shooting even dead-looking soldiers, stealing their weapons. A vet with PTSD shoots his rifle at the sky, points it in direction of a civilian Pentagon official. Another vet stares at his gun as if he's pondering self-harm.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent use of "f--k," "Jesus" (as an exclamation), "bulls--t," "s--t," "s--tter," "a--holes," "what the hell," "goddamn," "grease your d--k," and more.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

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Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Last Full Measure is based on the true story of Air Force Pararescueman William H. Pitsenbarger ( Jeremy Irvine ). His incredible sacrifice during a Vietnam War mission took 32 years to acknowledge with a Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded for an act of valor. The Vietnam sequences feature bloody war violence, including gunfire, explosions, close-ups of dire/fatal injuries, and dozens of dead soldiers on both sides. Adults smoke and drink, and strong language is fairly frequent, particularly "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," and the occasional "a--hole," "goddamn," and "Jesus." The movie explores mature themes related to war, military service, how veterans are treated when they return from active duty, and the politicized nature of medals/war decorations. Sebastian Stan stars as a (fictional) Pentagon official tasked in the 1990s with investigating the late Pitsenbarger's acts. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (4)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Tough war story has too much violence

Inspiring movie, what's the story.

THE LAST FULL MEASURE is based on a true story of the three-decades-long battle to award late Air Force Pararescueman William H. Pitsenbarger ( Jeremy Irvine ) the Congressional Medal of Honor for his act of valor during the Vietnam War. In 1966, Pitsenbarger, then 21, was on a helicopter mission to rescue injured Army soldiers caught in an ambush outside of Saigon. But instead of leaving with his helicopter to reach relative safety, Pitsenbarger elected to stay with the infantrymen and attend to their casualties -- and later died from his extraordinary efforts. In the late '90s, a group of veterans who were saved that day join Pitsenbarger's parents ( Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd ) in requesting a Medal of Honor for him. To investigate the issue, the Pentagon sends ambitious young civilian Scott Huffman ( Sebastian Stan ) to interview survivors about Pitsenbarger's act of bravery and decide whether there's enough merit to upgrade the posthumous decoration.

Is It Any Good?

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the amount of violence in the movie. Is it necessary to the story? How does realistic war violence impact audiences differently than stylized violence?

What distinguishes surviving an injury in wartime from an act of extraordinary courage? What makes Pits' sacrifice deserving of the Medal of Honor? Why is it significant that he's one of only three enlisted Air Force recruits to receive the top military award?

The filmmakers took creative license with this fact-based story, from adding fictional characters to including inaccurate details about Operation Abilene. Why do you think they made those choices? Does a film inspired by real events need to be the reported truth? Why or why not?

Does the movie make you want to learn more about the Vietnam War, Medal of Honor recipients, or Air Force Pararescuemen?

Movie Details

In theaters : January 24, 2020
On DVD or streaming : April 14, 2020
Cast : Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Plummer , Sebastian Stan , Jeremy Irvine
Director : Todd Robinson
Inclusion Information : Black actors
Studio : Lionsgate
Genre : Drama
Topics : History
Run time : 110 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : war violence, and language
Last updated : December 1, 2023

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The Last Full Measure (2020) Review

VALOR DEFINED IN MANY WAYS

War is waged by nations, but it is human beings that pay the price. While many wartime tales of battles being fought and over the victories that have been won, the aftermath of war has affected millions of individuals and, while the hardships of civilian lives are numerous, the “war coming home” for the soldiers is another war entirely. The battles might be over, but it is the so-called “battlefield of the mind” that plagues many soldiers after the war; haunted by nightmares that they faced previously and burdens of the past that they will carry with them for years to come. Additionally, tales of unsung heroes have fallen through the cracks of history, with displays of courage and vTooalor being dismissed and lost within the perilous times of war. Now, Roadside Attractions and director Todd Robinson present the feature film on such measure of war, valor, and uncovering the truth in the film The Last Full Measure . Does this military drama find its calling within its true untold story or does it fail to bring the light the tale of real-life vet William H. Pitsenbarger?

The year is 1999 and Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan) is a dutiful employee at the Department of Defense who’s learned his position will likely be eliminated during a shake-up of leadership. Putting on more stress to his situation, Scott is dealing with his family life, with his wife, Tara (Allison Sudol), is pregnant. In the flurry of daily business of the comings and goings, Scott is introduced to the case of William Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a Vietnam War soldier who spotted danger during an ill-fated missioned called “Operation Abilene”, sacrificing himself to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Awarded the Air Force Cross decades ago, William’s actions were denied the prestigious Medal of Honor, inspiring soldiers who survived the day, including Tully (William Hurt), to make a push of such a distinction. Tasked with reviving the investigation, Scott reluctantly takes the medal reviews case, only to discover much more to what really happened during Operation Abilene; seeking out other fellow soldiers, including Ray (Ed Harris), Takoda (Samuel L. Jackson), Kepper (John Savage), and Jimmy (Peter Fonda) who served with Pitsenbarger and to understand the true meaning of loss and valor in the face of overwhelming odds.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

Through times of war, people have paid the price for the decisions and actions made on both on and off the battlefield…. that much is true. The conflict between ideals of nations and countries is something of a “history lessons” of the cautious tales of humanity and power throughout the ages. That being said, the countless soldiers that serve in during these wars have definitely (in my opinion) paid the price for the service, with many (those fortunate to survive) returning home with some form of PTSD and struggling to simulate back into normal “everyday” society. As one can imagine this is a horrible state of “cost” to veteran soldiers as well as the idea of history eschewing some of the stories of valor and courage of some individuals during this time. Of course, various media platforms (i.e TV shows, movies, and books) have begun to shed light on these events.

This brings me back to talking about The Last Full Measure , a new wartime drama that seeks to examine the life of a deceased Vietnam soldier and the importance he had had. To be honest, I really didn’t hear much about this movie (prior to its release) as it didn’t create a whole lot of “buzz” on the movie website that I occasionally browse through. To be even more honest, I really can’t remember seeing the film’s movie trailer went I used to go out for my weekly “movie nights” at the nearby theater (i.e the 20 minute “coming soon” previews). I do, however, remember seeing a listing for the movie back during the end of January on the Regal Movie site, but the film wasn’t being shown in my area. Thus, I kind of forgot about. I know…sad but true. Anyways, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still going on, the movie theater chains are still somewhat closed with the various Hollywood studios still continuing to reshuffle their theatrical releases, which means that I had the time to revisit some lesser known movies that either I might have missed at the beginning of 2020 or some features that didn’t make it to theaters. Thus, The Last Full Measure was one of the movies as I decided to rent it via Vudu to see if the movie was to my liking. And was it? Well, to be honest, it was. Despite having a very predictable / formulaic path, The Last Full Measure is touching and moving drama piece that touches some deeper meaning themes, which is accompanied by some solid direction and performances throughout. Its not the most originals story to be told, but its definitely a compelling one that’s filled with care and attention to cinematic storytelling.

The Last Full Measure is directed by Todd Robinson, whose previous directorial works such as Lonely Hearts , Amargosa , and Phantom . While Robinson hasn’t directed much in the last few years (his last directorial work was back in 2013), he returns to the director’s chair filled with vim and vigor and makes The Last Full Measure his most ambitious feature project to date. To his success, Robinson approaches the tale of William Pitsenbarger’s narrative (for a cinematic undertaking) with a great sense of sincerity and respect for not just Pitsenbarger’ story, but also to the people surrounding him. Thus, the movie feels more like a collective work of everyone’s memories and those involved that have a connection to Pitsenbarger, which makes the film feel multi-layered and connected all the same. Additionally, Robinson makes the film have a grounded feeling of what he wants to project on the feature as well as to us (the viewers out there); revealing Pitsenbarger’s plight in a way that feels both thematically charged and dramatically entertaining for a theatrical feature film endeavor. Thus, Robinson’s shapes the film in a caring way that makes respectable to its source material as well as keeping the movie entertaining and pleasurable to watch. Also, Robinson finds a right balance between the wartime action / suspense scenes (a mixture of valiant bravery and horrors) and drama pieces of Scott Huffman’s journey to uncover the truth.

What also makes the movie feel grounded in realism and human emotion is within its thematic story of war and valor during such nightmarish times of war as well as the effect it has long after the tides of battle are over. What do I mean by that? Well, the movie’s story showcases many veteran soldiers (those who knew Pitsenbarger) and how they interacted with him during the time together in the army during Vietnam war and returning home a bit broken and fractured from their ser the vice. It’s a very poignant and moving commentary message to display as it certainly takes a mirrored image of veteran soldiers returning from war in the real world. Everyone is affected by war and sometimes the aftermath of war and the psychological effect it has can vary from individual to individual who was involved. Thus, The Last Full Measure is very sincere in this matter and helps create a gesture of projecting such horrors and causes in a proper and respectable light that neither shys away from it, but never makes it out of proportions for theatrical effect. Plus, the heart of the feature remains intact and certainly the tale of Scott’s journey to uncover the truth behind Pitsenbarger’s tale and the road of getting the Medal of Honor is one of meaningful prose to like about the feature.

The Last Full Measure is a pretty good within its presentation. Of course, the movie doesn’t reach the same level of dramatic war features, but it is still enough to showcase well-made feature film that doesn’t look “skimpy” on setting textures, filmmaking techniques, and believability in its story. Thus, the various “behind the scenes” team members throughout the feature certainly do give a good job in the movie, which does meet the “industry standard” for such drama films. This also includes some of the various scenes that are showcased in the past, which are gritty and feel grounded and definitely bring the grimness of the Vietnam war to the proceedings. This is when the cinematography work by Byron Werner comes into light and definitely shines in these sequences. Lastly, the film’s score, which was composed by Philip Klein, does a pretty good job in evoking plenty of emotional weight to the feature’s narrative.

There are a few problems that I had with the movie that, while still compelling and engaging to watch, makes The Last Full Measure have a few blemishes within its undertaking. Perhaps the one that is the most noticeable in the movie is how the feature actually unfolds and the narrative path that Robinson takes. Even without doing any real-life research into Pitsenbarger’s story, it’s quite easy to see where the movie is going to ahead, especially right from the get-go of the film’s opening. That’s not to say that the movie is boring and / or mundane is presentation (by no means), but the narrative’s progression of events (i.e. setbacks and milestones) are very predictable and formulaic to the touch. Thus, while the ending will have a resounding conclusion, it’s a conclusion that can be easily seeing miles away and one that seems a bit conventional for a “feel good” feature such as this. In truth, the film’s whole story (from opening to end credits) reminded me of 2015’s Woman in Gold , which I did like, but drew criticisms for being the same narrative premise and familiar plot beats. If one takes a look at both films, the parallels are quite similar to each other and it becomes apparent that both suffer from the general predictability of their respective narrative outcomes. Again, its not bad, but nothing groundbreaking or original and Robinson keeps everything on a predictable level.

Additionally, the movie has abundance of side characters and, while many of them make the larger portion of the feature’s narrative, most of them are pretty scant on character development beyond a few plot points here and there. This is most apparent in the film’s third act, which (into itself) is rather rushed. With the movie having a runtime of 116 minutes long, the movie takes a lot of the first two acts with heavy emphasis, while the third act gets shortchanged and feels hurried in the political “red tape” aspects of Huffman’s journey of getting Pitsenbarger’s honor. As a final criticism, while I liked the movie, it kind of felt a little bit like a TV movie (at times) than a theatrical feature film.

The cast in The Last Full Measure is pretty good and, while there not some of the most “crème la crème” of today’s A-list acting talents, they still are better than most and certainly lend their seasoned acting talents throughout the feature’s story. Leading the charge for the movie is actor Sebastian Stan, who plays the central protagonist character of Scott Huffman. Known for his roles in the MCU as Bucky Barnes (i.e. Captain America: The First Avenger , Captain America: The Winter Soldier , and Captain America: Civil War ) as well as his roles in I, Tonya and The Martian , Stan has been notoriously utilized in most of his roles as a supporting character role; acting as a secondary character throughout many projects and bolstering the main leads. In this movie, however, Stan gets the chance to flex his leading acting muscle with the role of Scott Huffman and he certainly does a pretty good job. The characterization of Scott Huffman is rather straight-forward and rather predictable, but Stan certainly makes the character his own and endearing from start to finish; making its easy to root for Scott’s journey from onset to conclusion. Connected to the character of Scott Huffman, actress Alison Sudol ( Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them and Transparent ) plays the part of Scott’s wife, Tara Huffman. Though Sudol is a talented actress, the character of Tara is rather conventional and ends up being the stereotypical “concerned” wife to the main protagonist. Probably one of the weaker characters on the project.

In more of supporting roles in the film are the various soldiers that make up Pitsenbarger’s veteran soldiers (both young and old) as each one has their own personal story to tell and how they connect to Pitsenbarger’s story and how they interact with Scott Huffman’s characters. This includes character actors such as actor William Hurt ( A History of Violence and Lost in Space ) as Tom Tulley, actor Ethan Russell ( White Dwarf and A Stand Up Guy ) as the younger version of Tom Tulley, actor Samuel L. Jackson ( Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight ) as Billy Takoda, actor Ser’Darius Blain ( Charmed and Jumanji: The Next Level ) as the younger version of Billy Takoda, actor Peter Fonda ( Easy Rider and 3:10 to Yuma ) in his late role before passing in 2019 as Jimmy Burr, actor James Jagger (Vinyl and Gangster Kittens) as the younger version of Jimmy Burr, actor Ed Harris ( The Rock and Apollo 13 ) as Ray Mott, actor Zach Roerig ( The Vampire Diaries and Rings ) as the younger version of Ray Mott, actor John Savage ( The Thin Red Line and Torque ) as Chauncy Kepper, actor Cody Walker ( Shadow Wolves and In the Rough ) as the younger version of Chauncy Kepper, actor Dale Dye ( Platoon and Under Siege ) as Holt, and actor Richard Cawthorne ( Noise and Upgrade ) as the younger version of Holt. All of these individuals certainly do their respective parts in a well-manner way that makes their film characters real, despite most being relatively commonplace personas for military drama features. As a side-note, actor Jeremy Irvine ( War Horse and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ) does a good job in the role of William H. Pitsenbarger. Though we (as the viewers) get only glimpse of him in various flashbacks sequences, Irvine has enough screen presence to make the character memorable in the movie.

Rounding out the rest of the cast includes actor Bradley Whitford ( The West Wing and Get Out ) as Scott Huffman’s co-worker Carlton Stanford, actor Linus Roache ( Vikings and Batman Begins ) as Whit Peters, actress Amy Madigan ( Field of Dreams and Gone Baby Gone ) as Jimmy Burr’s wife, Donna Burr, and actor Christopher Plummer ( The Sound of Music and All the Money in the World ) and actress Diane Ladd ( Wild at Heart and Joy ) as Pitsenbarger’s elderly parents, Frank and Alice Pitsenbarger. All of these individuals, though minor in their capacity, lend their acting talents beautifully in their respective roles.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The ultimate sacrifice deserves the highest honor as Scott Huffman uncovers and fights for a fallen soldier’s memory / honor in the movie The Last Full Measure . Director Todd Robinson latest film dissects the lives of one particular fallen soldier’s life and how his action impacted the lives of several individuals, which can be easily reflected upon any soldier (alive or dead) during one of the many wars throughout history. While the feature treads into familiar territory of being predictable (as well as a rushed third act), the movie still shines due to the palpable narrative being told, the thematical message of veteran soldiers of life after war, and a solid / respectable cast. Personally, I liked this movie. Yes, it’s a bit predictable and easy to figure where the movie ultimate is going to end up, but the journey (though formulaic) is still quite moving and enjoyable with a cinematic treatment that reaches a resounding ending that will please many fans out there. A definitely “crowd pleaser” if you know what I mean. Thus, my recommendation for this movie is a solid “highly recommended” as it’s a film that will definitely please many out there and deserves a compelling praise. Overall, The Last Full Measure , though predictable in nature, is still a wholesome endeavor; one that salutes unsung heroes such as William H. Pitsenbarger, but to all who gave up something / did acts of valor during their time in military service. And to that…I salute you all.

4.2 Out of 5 (Highly Recommended)

Released on: january 24th, 2020, reviewed on: june 5th, 2020.

The Last Full Measure is 116 minutes and is rated R for war violence and language

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The Last Full Measure Parent Guide

A film with inspiring stories of courage, heroism, and resilience that compensate for a flawed narrative framework..

William Pitsenbarger was a pararescueman during the Vietnam War, and although he died during the conflict, he is being considered for the Medal of Honor. Now it's down to Scott Huffman at the Pentagon to find out the truth of what happened over thirty years ago on the other side of the world...

Release date January 24, 2020

Run Time: 110 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kirsten hawkes.

William H Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine) was a pararescueman with the US Air Force in the Vietnam War, tasked with rescuing downed pilots and providing medical treatment to troops on the front lines. On April 11, 1966, two helicopters were sent to retrieve US casualties trapped at Xa Cam My , where they had been ambushed and were under heavy fire. Noting that the unit’s medic was wounded, Pitsenbarger insisted that he be lowered to the ground to provide immediate first aid and ensure that those who needed to be evacuated were properly secured. Before the area grew too dangerous for the choppers, the young airman sent nine men to safety, only to die under enemy fire. His valor was recognized with an Air Force Cross in 1966, but the men who witnessed his courage insisted that his sacrifice deserved a Medal of Honor. It was to be a thirty year fight.

Pitsenbarger’s real life actions are the inspiring heart of The Last Full Measure and provide enough uplift to compensate for a narrative framework that is far less satisfying. This story is centered around Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan), a rising civilian star at the Pentagon, known for his ability to get things done, ruthlessly, if necessary. When he’s assigned to review a posthumous Medal of Honor application, he grudgingly decides to do the minimum: review the file, conduct a few interviews, tick the boxes and get back to the work that really matters. But once he dives into the lives of the men who fought in Xa Cam My, his perspective shifts.

The film also has a few other flaws. The dialogue often feels canned and sometimes trite. There is a particularly painful scene where Hoffman indulges in some clumsy amateur psychology that will make some viewers wince. Parents will also be unhappy with the three dozen profanities, although they aren’t unexpected given the context. Also not surprising in context is the battlefield violence, some of which can be disturbing. However, violence is not inappropriate in a war movie and it is neither gratuitous nor glamorized.

Despite the production’s flaws, the true story of Pitsenbarger’s selfless heroism is enough to inspire those who see the film. In a world grown increasingly cynical, where trust in institutions is slipping, and people are increasingly isolated within their own social media bubbles, few things are more heartening than knowing a young man was willing to sacrifice himself to save the lives of strangers. Perhaps watching Pitsenbarger give the “last full measure of devotion” for his countrymen might inspire the rest of us to at least give our fellow citizens the basic measure of civility, respect, and empathy.

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Kirsten hawkes, watch the trailer for the last full measure.

The Last Full Measure Rating & Content Info

Why is The Last Full Measure rated R? The Last Full Measure is rated R by the MPAA for war violence, and language

Violence: There are frequent scenes of battlefield violence including explosions that throw people in the air, people being shot and falling out of trees, and men being shot. Wounded men are shown screaming. There are frequent scenes of men with bloody wounds and there are medical scenes involving treatments of these injuries. One scene briefly shows a dead man’s bloody entrails. Wounded men are dragged through the jungle. A man is shot in the head on camera. A man is shown washing his friend’s dead body, and putting a bandage over the bullet hole in his forehead. A man shows bullet scars on his back. A man talks about “destroying” a club and leaving blood and teeth on the floor. There is mention of possible suicide by putting a gun in one’s mouth. A man fires a gun into the air. A man breaks the neck of a rabbit he’s shot. A man vomits after killing an enemy in combat. Men fire guns at a shooting range. A man says that another man kills things to relieve stress. Wounded men are shot. Sexual Content: A married couple kisses and embraces on a few occasions. Profanity: There are over three dozen swear words in the movie, including eight sexual expletives, a handful of abbreviations including a sexual expletive, 14 scatological terms, and 16 terms of deity. There is also a smattering of anatomical terms and some crude language. Alcohol / Drug Use: A secondary character is shown smoking cigarettes. There is some minor social drinking. A medic injects wounded men with painkillers.

Page last updated April 24, 2020

The Last Full Measure Parents' Guide

How historically accurate is the movie?

History vs Hollywood: The Last Full Measure

Airman William Pitsenbarger wasn’t the only casualty of Operation Abilene to receive a Medal of Honor. Sgt James W “Jim” Robinson was also posthumously recognized for his heroics in preserving the lives of his men. For more information about the Congressional Medal of Honor, check out The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation .

A moment by moment description of the battle of Xa Cam My can be found here:

The Washington Post: On the Perimeter of Hell

Although not all Vietnam vets suffered lifelong trauma, many did. Are you aware of the after-effects of the war on the many men (and women) who served there?

History.com: Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When They Returned?

American Foreign Relations: The Vietnam War and Its Impact – American Veterans

Smithsonian.com: Over a Quarter-Million Vietnam War Veterans Still Have PTSD

The New York Times: Combat Stress Among Veterans Is Found to Persist Since Vietnam

Loved this movie? Try these books…

Charlie Company’s doomed participation in Operation Abilene is described in detail in George C Wilson’s carefully researched book, Mud Soldiers.

Journalist Philip Caputo recorded his first person experience as a marine in Vietnam in A Rumor of War. Michael Herr, a journalist on the front lines in Vietnam, published his account in Dispatches.

For a doctor’s perspective on the war, you can turn to Ronald J Glasser’s 365 Days. Stationed in Japan, Glasser treated injured men who were evacuated to the military hospital where he treated their wounds and heard their stories. Situated somewhat closer to the front was Army nurse Lynda Van Devanter. Working with Christopher Morgan, DeVanter shares her experiences with wounded troops in Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam.

If you’re looking for a concise history of the entire confusing conflict, check out George Herring’s America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam 1950-1975. In They Marched Into Sunlight, author David Maraniss combines experiences of soldiers, anti-war activists, and politicians to give a broad perspective on the conflict. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and Geoffrey C Ward have published interviews with subjects from their miniseries in The Vietnam War.

Have you ever wondered how the North Vietnamese troops saw their experiences in the war? Try reading Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War. Duong Thu Huong, a disillusioned North Vietnamese soldier, shared his experiences and loss of faith in his national Communist ideology in Novel Without a Name.

The most recent home video release of The Last Full Measure movie is April 21, 2020. Here are some details…

‘La Chimera’ Review: A Treasure Trove

In her latest dreamy movie, the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher follows a tomb raider, played by Josh O’Connor, who’s pining for a lost love.

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A group of people in various outfits stands looking at something offscreen.

By Manohla Dargis

Like the yellow brick road, the bright red thread in “La Chimera” winds through a world that is both dreamy and touched by magic. The thread has begun unraveling from a long knit dress worn by a woman beloved by the movie’s hero. It trails across the ground, flutters in the air and beguiles you, just like this film. And, like all loose threads — in fraying fabric and in certain stories — this slender cord tempts you to pull it, urging you to see what happens next.

“La Chimera” is the latest from Alice Rohrwacher, a delightfully singular Italian writer-director who, with just a handful of feature-length movies — the charming, low-key heartbreaker “ Happy as Lazzaro ” among them — has become one of the must-see filmmakers on the international circuit. Rohrwacher, who grew up in central Italy, makes movies that resist facile categorization and concise synopsis. They’re approachable and engaging, and while she’s working within the recognizable parameters of the classic art film — her stories are elliptical, her authorship unambiguous — there’s nothing programmatic about her work.

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Set in the 1980s, “La Chimera” centers on Arthur (a fine Josh O’Connor), a dejected British tomb raider who lives in rural Italy where he uses a dowsing stick to find buried treasures. When you first see him, he is asleep on a train en route to the village where he lives in a shack, a muddle of junky odds and ends that he’s set against the exterior of the town’s medieval wall. It’s a suitable liminal space for Arthur, whose suits hang forlornly off his body. He never comfortably fits in anything or anywhere or with anyone, whether he’s roaming about with a brotherly band unearthing antiquities or watching women roam in and out of a faded villa.

His lover, Beniamina (Yile Vianello), has gone missing, though it’s unclear why or when. Even so, she remains stubbornly present both for Arthur (including in his dreams) and for her mother, Flora (the sublime Isabella Rossellini), a dowager who lives in a crumbling villa, a glorious wreck with a leaky roof where she keeps an altar dedicated to her errant daughter. Beniamina may be — as the title suggests — an illusion. At the very least, she is a seductive mystery, one that Rohrwacher teases in a movie that playfully meanders here and there, engages with history and mythology, addresses cultural patrimony and commercial plunder and loosely recasts the myth of two other separated lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice.

Once Arthur returns to the village, he resumes his old life and former illegal ways. He visits Flora, where he and a music student-servant, Italia (Carol Duarte), soon catch each other’s eye. They flirt and spend time together, and Italia, in one of the story’s more rambling interludes, helps establish a communal squat filled with women and children in an abandoned train station. (Rohrwacher is an idealist.) At the same time, Arthur also picks up with his gang of tomb raiders — tombaroli in Italian — a largely male group who live on the margins, a space where Rohrwacher likes to linger, though sometimes nearly gets lost in.

The story emerges in bits and pieces — in conversations, expressive faces, penetrating details, faded frescoes and self-mythologizing folk songs — that don’t immediately reveal an overarching narrative logic. Characters rarely explain anything here; instead they chat, sing, trade looks and share caresses that create a tangible sense of the present, one that is always imbricated with the past. In Italy, history constantly burbles up from the very earth; the tomb raiders never dig too long or deeply. History is also in people’s DNA, in their ballads, on their frescoed walls, in the stonework of their traditional homes and in all the stolen (or, arguably, reclaimed) antiquities that, shattered and not, summon up an alternative universe.

Rohrwacher’s digressive storytelling can make “La Chimera” seem unstructured, but she’s going where she wants to go and at her own pace. She likes detours, lived-in (nonplastic) faces and the kind of revelatory details that might go unnoticed, if she didn’t direct your gaze at them. She focuses on the frescoes adorning Flora’s villa but also, in what initially seems like a throwaway shot, pauses on the character’s shabby slippers. Rohrwacher isn’t simply underscoring Flora’s deprivations (though that is part of it); she is tenderly drawing your attention to this regal woman’s complexities — Rossellini’s own history and enduring stardom adds more complicating layers — and finding beauty, grandeur and sustenance in the ruins.

“La Chimera” sneaks up on you. Rohrwacher is a discreet virtuoso with a visual style that is appealing and demonstrably unshowy. She likes to crowd the frame, yet does so coherently, and while she uses different film formats throughout to indicate distinct moments and spaces, she doesn’t make a fuss about it. She reveals beauty rather than pummels you with it, the way flashier filmmakers do, and lets meaning emerge without trumpet blasts. She invites you to look at the world, to follow the thread, assemble the pieces. To trace the path of the sun as it rises on a tattoo on a woman’s back, glints through a smudged train window and retains its aura on an ancient fresco, bathing this world in a light that’s as beautiful as it is evanescent.

La Chimera Not rated. In Italian and English, with subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes. In theaters.

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

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Review: An investigator on a cold case finds isolation in an outback town called ‘Limbo’

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Outback noir gets an Antonioni-esque existential once-over in writer-director Ivan Sen’s aridly brooding mystery “Limbo,” a tale of the missing and what’s ever-present in a place of stark beauty and deep-seated racial injustice. Come for the cold case, stay for a couple of remarkably lived-in performances from Simon Baker and Natasha Wanganeen. But understand that the true spell here is multihyphenate Sen’s monochrome cinematography, capturing a desolate South Australian town as if it were a moonscape, light-years from the comforts of Earth.

Sen’s brand of socially conscious, dusty, “Bad Day at Black Rock”-adjacent crime saga has already delivered sturdy returns with his earlier features, “Mystery Road” and “Goldstone,” each of which starred Aaron Pedersen as an Indigenous detective poking around rural communities thick with corruption and secrets. (Sen himself is of Indigenous and European descent.) “Limbo” also is built around a man looking for answers, in this case about the 20-year-old disappearance of an Indigenous schoolgirl in the titular town, a remote, depressed opal mining outpost. This time, however, our visiting, taciturn investigator is white, although no less affected by a hard land’s lingering hurts.

Travis (an unrecognizably weathered Baker) has rolled into Limbo and its patchwork of waste soil mounds, open caves and sparse businesses to see if the girl’s likely murder, never officially solved, is worth reopening. That this stoic, tight-lipped man listens to Christian sermons on the radio, but quickly shoots up once he checks into his motel room, tells us that there are other demons on his mind besides the ones he may be unearthing.

What he finds initially is a reluctance to participate on the part of the missing Charlotte’s surviving kin. Her stepbrother Charlie (Rob Collins) lives alone in a trailer, usually morose and often drunk, and still bristles at the racially targeted harassment he received from the white cops who barely investigated at the time. Charlotte’s older sister Emma (Wanganeen) is estranged from Charlie but is raising his two kids, as well as her own daughter. They live on her meager waitress wages, and whatever they fetch from scrounging for opals from the countless rock piles.

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Even Travis’ search for the man whom everyone accepted as the prime suspect — a skeevy white local once notorious for plying the area’s teenage girls with alcohol and drugs — seems futile: Travis learns from the guy’s reclusive brother (Nicholas Hope) that he’d died the year before. New information bubbles to the surface as Travis tracks down leads, but it’s as if traveling to the middle of nowhere to unravel one crime revealed a wasteland of dislocation and pain, the result of years of wrongdoing. Even a deepening bond with Emma — one that elicits details of his scarred past, and playful teasing from her kids — is approached cautiously, with Baker and Wanganeen serving up a master class in synched underplaying. This extracted land may be full of holes but also, we sense, emotional mines.

“Limbo,” which Sen also scored and edited, is ostensibly a murder mystery, complete with clues and, though obliquely rendered, a solution both stinging and believable. The narrative invariably feels like merely a framework for Sen’s carefully cultivated black-and-white mood, immersing us in a parched, faded world of loss, anger and hiding. With only a handful of characters populating this spare tale — led by Baker’s compassionate cowboy melancholia and Wanganeen’s hardened loneliness — “Limbo” is as much last-chance western as it is crime story.

There’s no truer visual metaphor for this than Sen’s canny choice of town to play his fictional Limbo: real-life Aussie settlement Coober Pedy, where most homes and businesses are subterranean, built right into the region’s sandstone, as if cave times had returned. It’s clearly a heat-avoiding measure. But for a noir of isolation and concealment, about how the past can often feel inescapable, these shadowy dugouts — Travis’ motel, a church and one character’s lonely lair — are an atmospheric mother lode.

Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes Playing: Starts Friday at the Laemmle Monica, Santa Monica; Simon Baker will participate in a Q&A after the 7 p.m. screening March 22, moderated by The Times’ Carlos Aguilar.

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IMAGES

The Last Full Measure
The Last Full Measure Review
The Last Full Measure movie review (2020)
The Last Full Measure
The Last Full Measure Movie Review
MOVIE REVIEW By Lucas Allen: 'The Last Full Measure' measures up

COMMENTS

The Last Full Measure movie review (2020)
Instead, "The Last Full Measure" spends much of its runtime examining postwar post-traumatic stress disorder and the survivor's guilt that accompanies it. Running underneath this is a subtly rendered current of anger over the way veterans are treated once they come home. These ideas are presented by a cast of well-seasoned actors who help ...
The Last Full Measure
Watch The Last Full Measure with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV. Rate And Review. Submit review. Want to see
The Last Full Measure review
The nod from top brass is not to push too hard for the medal, and Huffmann barely bothers to hide his boredom interviewing veterans. An air force buddy (William Hurt) remembers Pitsenbarger as an ...
'The Last Full Measure' Review: Remembering a Fallen War Hero
In the fact-based film "The Last Full Measure," Sebastian Stan plays Scott Huffman, a Department of Defense legal cog solicited by a Vietnam veteran (William Hurt) to pursue a Medal of Honor ...
'The Last Full Measure' Review
'The Last Full Measure': Film Review. Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris and Samuel L. Jackson co-star in 'The Last Full Meaure,' a drama about the effor to award a ...
'The Last Full Measure': Film Review
"The Last Full Measure" concerns ambitious Dept. of Defense staffer Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan), who bristles at what he believes is a thankless assignment: reviewing a petition to get ...
The Last Full Measure
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 29, 2021. Mark Meszoros The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH) Ultimately, The Last Full Measure doesn't reach the level of an exceptional drama, but its heart is ...
'The Last Full Measure' Review: A Hero's Long Road to Glory
In 'The Last Full Measure,' an amazing true story of heroism in Vietnam takes a back seat to a tale of corruption. Peter Travers' review
The Last Full Measure
The Last Full Measure revolves around the courage of William Pitsenbarger. But his story is told largely from the perspective of someone who didn't fight in Vietnam, an ambitious young lawyer named Scott Huffman. At first, Scott doesn't care a whit about whether the fallen airman ever receives the award.
'The Last Full Measure' review: Star-studded cast elevates tale of
Movie review. In the Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln paid tribute to those who fought and died for their cause, to which they "gave the last full measure of devotion."
The Last Full Measure
The Last Full Measure tells the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen (also known as a PJ) medic who personally saved over sixty men. During a rescue mission on April 11, 1966, he was offered the chance to escape on the last helicopter out of a combat zone heavily under fire, but he stayed behind to save and defend the lives of ...
The Last Full Measure (2019)
The Last Full Measure: Directed by Todd Robinson. With Sebastian Stan, Alison Sudol, Asher Miles Fallica, LisaGay Hamilton. Thirty-four years after his death, Airman William H. "Pits" Pitsenbarger is awarded the nation's highest military honor for his actions on the battlefield.
The Last Full Measure Review: A Heroic True Story of the Vietnam War
Parallels to the toxic ignorance that rules so much of what passes for redemption and justice today on Pennsylvania Avenue are inescapable. THE LAST FULL MEASURE ★★★1/2. (3.5/4 stars ...
The Last Full Measure Review
The Last Full Measure Review. In 1999, ambitious Pentagon employee Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan) is tasked with exploring why Vietnam hero William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a US Air Force ...
The Last Full Measure (2019)
This genre of movie is Drama, and war. The last full measure took place in many different places, they were vietnam, and Atlanta. In this amazing true story the main characters are Scott Huffman, Tara Huffman, Luke Huffman, Celia O'Neal, Carlton Stanton, Tom Tuley, Whit Peters, William H. Pitsenbarger, Frank Pitsenbarger, and Alice Pitsenbarger.
Movie Review
The Last Full Measure, 2020. Written and Directed by Todd Robinson Starring Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irvine, Peter Fonda, Bradley ...
'The Last Full Measure': What is Real and What is Not
The Last Full Measure, the fact-based Vietnam War-heavy movie that opened nationwide on January 24, 2020, features a five-pack of big-time Baby Boomer male actors playing Vietnam War veterans. William Hurt, 70, offers up Tulley, an intense, troubled USAF vet, using many of the mannerisms he displayed in his portrayal of the troubled, impotent ...
The Last Full Measure review
The Last Full Measure is a "let's do the right thing" picture that lacks an overall filmmaking savvy, but makes up for it with well-earned based-on-a-true-story manipulation. While director Todd Robinson's latest film's issues are evident, the cinematography winning the booby-prize here, the large number of the stacked cast carries ...
The Last Full Measure Review: Sebastian Stan Leads Lifeless ...
A stultifying reminder that bad movies are often made with the best intentions, Todd Robinson's " The Last Full Measure " certainly can't be faulted for the integrity of its mission. As ...
The Last Full Measure Movie Review
Our review: Parents say: ( 4 ): Kids say: Not yet rated Add your rating. 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 ...
The Last Full Measure (2019 film)
The Last Full Measure is a 2019 American war drama film written and directed by Todd Robinson.It follows the efforts of fictional Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman and many veterans to see the Medal of Honor awarded to William H. Pitsenbarger, a United States Air Force Pararescueman who flew in helicopter rescue missions during the Vietnam War to aid downed soldiers and pilots.
The Last Full Measure (2020) Review
The Last Full Measure is a pretty good within its presentation. Of course, the movie doesn't reach the same level of dramatic war features, but it is still enough to showcase well-made feature film that doesn't look "skimpy" on setting textures, filmmaking techniques, and believability in its story.
The Last Full Measure Movie Review for Parents
The Last Full Measure Rating & Content Info . Why is The Last Full Measure rated R? The Last Full Measure is rated R by the MPAA for war violence, and language . Violence: There are frequent scenes of battlefield violence including explosions that throw people in the air, people being shot and falling out of trees, and men being shot. Wounded men are shown screaming.
'La Chimera' Review: A Treasure Trove
This heart-string-tugging Netflix movie about a homeless soccer team, featuring Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward, puts the emphasis on play and uplift. Read our full review. Sean Penn plays a flinty ...
Review: An investigator on a cold case finds isolation in an outback
March 21, 2024 2:54 PM PT. Outback noir gets an Antonioni-esque existential once-over in writer-director Ivan Sen's aridly brooding mystery "Limbo," a tale of the missing and what's ever ...

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Reviewed at Dolby 88, New York, January 21, 2020. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 115 MIN.

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The Last Full Measure review – a noble, flawed effort