Love and Honor (2013) User Reviews

Surprisingly tolerable.

[Jonathon_Natsis · 6/10 · 24 November 2012]

With Love and Honour, Liam Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer bring some Aussie flavour to the quintessential American staple: a love story set in wartime.

The film tells the tale of Mickey (Hemsworth) and Dalton (Austin Stowell), two soldiers who spend their week off from Vietnam flying back to America, where Dalton plans to reunite with his best gal Jane (Aimee Teegarden). Mickey, ever the adventurer, tags along for the ride before getting bitten by the love bug himself in the form of Candace (Palmer).

If the plot sounds older than time itself, it's because it is, but the film remains at least a bearably enjoyable romp. In what proves to be both a blessing and a curse, Love and Honour plays out like two films in one.

In the first half, the acting on display is above par, and while the script fails to account for some plot holes, it manages to avoid an avalanche of clichés that films of this genre are typically so prone to.

Disappointingly, the second half labours, jumping right back onto the beaten track en route to a bland and entirely expected conclusion. A decent option as a mind-numbing stimulus, watching this ninety-three minute film will feel like…well, about an hour-and-a-half.

*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on [e-mail] and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*

Unique Angle

[dansview · 5/10 · 27 February 2015]

I found this DVD in a bargain basket at a Walmart grocery store. Forget the politics for a few minutes. I'm a conservative, but I really don't think this movie was about the Vietnam War. It was about women as "muses." Muses are inspirations for artists and others.

The whole movie is based upon the concept of a special girl as the inspiration for a special soldier's courage. One loses it and one gains it. I like that.

Liam Hemsworth plays a cliché adequately. He's the ladies' man who thinks of himself as the leading man of every moment of life. But I like the way they paired a guy who has never committed to anything, with a guy (the other male lead)who has always been about commitment.

I totally get the fact that the other guy is in love with the small town girl he left months ago, but clearly she has changed dramatically. At first you ask yourself why he would continue to want a girl who has become such a daffy hippie. But you have to realize that he still thinks of her as who she was before.

There is some balance in terms of the portrayal of different cliché types of the 60s era. The hippies are exposed as posers and the soldiers as neither patriotic nor traitorous. They were just generic young dudes trying to survive, albeit the more conservative lead volunteered and had that honor code as part of his personality.

At first I didn't really understand why the Hemsworth guy would even like the blonde he meets. He's a soldier and she's just some stupid Leftist. But then I understood that he admired her commitment to anything, since had never been committed.

This is a low budget film with plenty of plot loopholes. Neither guy went to see his parents on leave from Vietnam in America. One guy falls "in love," in less than a week." There's a pristine lake for swimming and no one else is using it, except our lovebirds on a beautiful day.

There were more anti-Vietnam War statements than pro or neutral, so if that upsets you, you may want to stay away. But if you have patience, you may appreciate the theme of love inspiring soldiers.

The movie did not rely on a clichéd soundtrack of classic 60s songs. There may have been a few, but I don't remember any, so it could not have been too obnoxious.

Pleasantly Surprised

[dallasryan · 7/10 · 1 June 2015]

This was actually a very good film. The first 15 minutes into it I thought to myself 'Oh boy, another cruddy movie bites the dust', but this film, in a very subtle way, comes into it's own and blossoms into an endearing story. A very well acted movie all around. I always like Teresa Palmer and I was very impressed with Liam Hemsworth as well. Liam reminds me of a young Val Kilmer in this film and I can ensure you that Hemsworth's career will continue to rise.

Furthermore, I have to give major props to the DP of this film. This is a film with a very limited budget, but the DP does a fantastic job with the quality of each shot. Pretty brilliant the way everything is shot in an 'interior' like style since the budget is low, very smart shooting in that close-up, interior shot style.

Lastly, this is a film that raises some questions about the Vietnam War, questions that have never been addressed in a Vietnam War film before (or at least any Vietnam war film I've seen). Pretty thought provoking. All in all, a film worth watching.

Touching

[Gordon-11 · 13 February 2014]

This film tells the story of a young soldier of United States of America, who goes on an unauthorised trip back home to win back the girl of his dreams.

"Love and Honor" is not the ordinary chick flick. Not only does it have some battle scenes, it also shows very well the internal battles of the soldiers in choosing whether to defend his love or to defend his honour. The relationships of the two soldiers are very convincing and the two couple all have great chemistry with each other. I can feel the soldiers' torment in having to choose between love and the troops. I felt for the characters, and I was touched by their stories. I enjoyed watching "Love and Honor" a lot.

Doesn't quite hit the mark, but its heart is in the right place

[callanvass · 5/10 · 14 September 2013]

(Plot) A young soldier gets his heartbroken by the woman he loves, so he goes AWOL with his buddy (Liam Hemsworth) and returns to the United States to try and win her back. They tell a regretful lie, and problems arise for them

I can't help but like this movie. It tried so hard to be a powerful film without being pretentious about it. Was it pretentious? Slightly…but it really does have good intentions. I realize this subject is a touchy issue, so I'll use as much diligence & care as possible. My dad has told me tales & stories about the Vietnam War and what a crock a lot of it was. I tend to agree with him for my own personal reasons. That's what this movie's message is about. We do get sights of war going on, but it gives way to a couple fairly effective love stories. That's where the money & heart in this movie lies. The one between Dalton & (Stowell) Juniper (Teegarden) was a bit cold. It was really tough for me to feel sympathy for it, especially Juniper. Her shallowness angered me on a number of occasions, and I felt Dalton's character was written a bit too blasé with it all, aside from an intense scene at a club with him. His character sorely needed him to delve a little bit deeper in my opinion. Mickey (Hemsworth) & Candace (Palmer) come off much better. It was much more real. Hemsworth was able to balance a perfect combination of charismatic arrogance & likability, without going overboard on being too cocky, and that made him all the more sympathetic. Teresa Palmer is a favorite of mine, and I feel the sky is the limit for her. She absolutely nailed what could have been a thin part with conviction. I didn't like how the finale ended though. It felt a bit jumbled and contrived to be honest with you, before getting back on track with the ending

Final Thoughts: I always reward good efforts, and the effort here is undeniable. They didn't fully succeed with the powerful film they were going for, but for a romance film with war themes, I thought it was quite alright. It'll tug at your heart strings a bit. Worth a watch

5.7/10

Something is Wrong With This Picture

[joncheskin · 4/10 · 31 May 2015]

Love and Honor tells the story of a soldier in Vietnam, Dalton, who takes extreme measures when he receives a Dear John from his girl back home; he jumps his RandR and flies back to Michigan to try to win her back. His buddy Mickey, perhaps only looking for a good adventure, perhaps genuinely trying to help his friend, flies back with him, and strangely finds true love himself when he meets a friend of the girl in the house they are living in. A problem--both girls are Vietnam protesters, and the fact that Dalton and Mickey are soldiers provides an awkward backdrop to their developing romances.

Love and Honor is a movie that is non-functional on a number of interesting levels, and is therefore strangely entertaining. This is a movie that is probably best taken as a sort of chick flick (romance burgeoning in an impossible situation) and on that level, it is mildly effective. In such movies, the drama does not have to be top quality--we get caught up in the silly story and suspend our disbelief to enjoy the tackiness of the whole thing.

The problem, however, is that Love and Honor occasionally veers off of this course and tries to be more serious. We get, for example, modest attempts at a realistic period piece; problem is that the movie does not seems realistic at all--scenes in Hong Kong were filmed in an airport built in the 1990s, and much of the movie seems like it has no sense of the period.

The movie occasionally tries to veer into the realm of serious drama related to the anxieties of war time, ala Born on the Forth of July. Problem is that our cast has the look of 21st century fashion models, kind of like watching a modern sitcom. It is not believable, and attempts at gritty realism seem to simply fall flat.

As a result, the movie seems very much like a 21st century teenage fantasy about what the Vietnam period was like. If you like watching this kind of stuff on TV, well then you are fine sitting in front of this movie. If, however, you are looking for The Deer Hunter, or Born on the Fourth of July, then you are bound to chuckle at how silly the movie looks or acts.

Another failed attempt at trying to appeal to a male audience

[estebangonzalez10 · 5/10 · 25 March 2013]

¨Military fly free.¨

Love and Honor is yet another lame attempt at trying to make a chick flick appealing to men by adding some action, which in this case happened to be the Vietnam War. The only problem is that the action scenes only take place during the beginning of the film and the rest of the story is a plain formulaic chick flick which happens to star young good looking actors in order to appeal to its audience. Love and Honor isn't anything we haven't seen before in hundreds of other rom-coms and in everyday TV series. This film is Danny Mooney's directorial debut after having worked mostly as an actor in the industry. The script which is hard to believe wasn't adapted from a Nicholas Spark novel, was written by Jim Burnstein and Garrett K. Schiff, but one has to assume that they were deeply inspired by him when coming up with this story. One of the main issues I had with the film (apart from the cheesy scripts and characters) was that it never felt to me that we were in 1969. The production design team never managed to transport us into that world, like other great films have done so (more recently Argo). I can see why some people might enjoy this film, especially girls, considering it is a chick flick and has some likable young actors, but artistically it has little value. There are plenty of other great independent rom- coms that are worth checking out instead of this.

The story takes place in 1969 as we follow a group of American soldiers in Vietnam trying to survive the war. Mickey (Liam Hemsworth) is in charge of the radio equipment, while Joiner (Austin Stowell) has a special talent for recognizing explosive wires hidden throughout the place. He is the main reason why everyone is still alive, but there is a motivation for his attention to detail. Joiner is in love with Jane (Aimee Teegarden) and all he can think of is surviving along with his friends in order to return home safely and marry the girl of his dreams. Right before the soldiers are given a week off duty, Joiner gets a letter from Jane claiming she wants to break up with him. In order to win her back, Joiner decides to sneak back to Michigan during their week off. Mickey, an uncompromising young soldier, decides to help Joiner and make sure he returns without being caught. Thus the two soldiers arrive in Michigan and catch up with Jane, who is calling herself Juniper now and involved in an anti-war movement along with several other teens. Joiner wins her love back when Mickey claims they have deserted the war in protest, and ends up falling for one of Juniper's friends, Candace (Teresa Palmer). The two men experience the surreal counter culture of the Vietnam War back home, and at the same time end up falling in love while the entire world has their eyes on men's first voyage to the moon.

Whenever you don't have a solid script it's hard for the performances to be strong and credible. Liam Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer are very good looking actors and shared some chemistry, but the entire premise was so cheesy that it was hard to believe their story. Love and Honor ends up being yet another romantic melodrama that never explores the true value of the two words in the title. Aimee Teegarden and Austin Stowell served only as the back story for the main one, but they too lacked chemistry. As much as the producers wanted to appeal to a male audience, I think this film will only seduce young girls. It doesn't do much for a male audience and it is just another formulaic cliché film that does nothing to break from the boundaries of the genre.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

No technical advisor at all?

[jeffclinthill · 2/10 · 17 September 2021]

Speaking as a Vietnam war veteran who arrived in Vietnam the same summer as the movie takes place (1969) and who went on R&R in 1970, I found "Love and Honor" to be terribly annoying and insulting in its blaring inaccuracies that indicate that the producers did not employ (or else didn't listen to) any form of technical advisor.

1: When going on R&R (or leave) from Vietnam, we traveled in civilian clothes, not in our jungle fatigues.

2: When in any form of uniform, we wore an insignia showing rank. Those in the Army (soldiers) in Vietnam wore small, black, metal rank insignias that the enemy could not see from a distance. The guys in "Love and Honor" are not wearing any rank insignias at all.

3: The movie touts "military travels free." That is only when traveling on a military plane or a military chartered plane when the individual has specific orders to fly. When flying commercial, we showed our (leave or PCS) orders and then got 50% off by flying "Space Available," meaning we may or may not be getting on the next flight or the flight after that or the flight after that. There is absolutely no way any military member could have been on R&R in Hong Kong and from there flown out - let alone fly all the way to and all the way back from some location in the continental United States. And if the two soldiers had had any plans to try that stupid move, they would have elected to take R&R in Honolulu, not Hong Kong.

4: In one scene the soldier tries go say hello to a "round eye" in the states and he gets the finger and a buzz off, baby killer. He mumbles "whatever happened to 'thank you for your service.'" "Thank you for your service" was not invented until the recent, Middle East wars. The first time I heard, "Thank you for your service" was in 2014, when somebody noticed that my car, parked on Fort Bragg, has a (North Carolina) Vietnam Veteran license plate. When we got back from Vietnam (between 1965 and 1973), at best, nobody mentioned our service in that war at all.

A Pleasant Surprise

[sumouuai · 22 March 2013]

A poker of actors Jane / Aimee Teegarden , Candace / Teresa Palmer , Mickey / Liam Hemsworth , and Dalton / Austin Stowell love and war are the premises,let's talk about the movie.Dalton (Stowell) is breaking up with Juniper/Jane (Teegarden) and he has a week and his Awol fellow Mickey (Hemsworth) to win her back.I wouldn't want to go more in depth with the story of the movie,since one of the many things I liked of it are the twists and turns like; "life is never just a straight line to follow" thingy.It's good to see the different approach to the Nam war focusing more on the inside conflicts between love/duty,commitment/freedom.

Did i like the movie ? Definitely !

Would I advise you to watch it ? Sure !

Solid acting,subtly but charming approach to multiple states of mind in a tumultuous period,at the end of sixties,with a war and dreams in between.

Being usually very picky means when I like something you surely will too so act accordingly...

P.S.

I also recently saw Upside Down and if you are looking for a date movie or just a romantic mind's wandering,this is a great and better choice.Learn passing on today's visual gimmicks and overflowing marketing nonsense.Little gems are out there to be found,and this is indeed one.

Now Steppenwolf me out of here.

Peace.

Suspension of Disbelief

[dr_hoople · 1/10 · 3 September 2015]

The director, actors, screenwriters - in fact, everyone connected with the film should be admonished by putting together an unbelievable accounting of the Vietnam War and the attendant Protest Movement. The music didn't fit the story, the charisma of the lead actors was not evident, and neither the sets nor the hairstyles reflected the times.

Perhaps the most glaring problem was the fact that the themes of "love and honor" were handled with clichés and teenager-type sentiments. I seriously doubt that anyone involved actually experienced the Vietnam War firsthand. If the directors/producers hired consultants in the making of this flawed film, it sadly did not show.

Disappointing! 3/10

[leonblackwood · 3/10 · 10 May 2014]

Review: I really wasn't a big fan of this movie. I found it quite corny and the acting wasn't anything special. It's predictable from the beginning to the end and the whole, leaving war for my girl thing became slightly tedious. It amazed me how these 2 soldiers go to some strangers house and spend all there time that they have on leave, without thinking about there parents or there other friends. I'm sure they had phones in those days. Anyway, the storyline was weak and the acting is pretty terrible, but for some unknown reason, you end up sticking with the movie, just to see what these teenagers are going to do with there life's. It's not a movie that I would recommend for entertainment but it's a watchable drama. Average!

Round-Up: Liam Hemsworth is definitely not in the same league as his bigger brother, Chris Hemsworth who has done a great job with Thor. Every movie that I have seen him in has been disappointing, which is due to the fact that he just hasn't got any screen charisma. I just hope that he finds his genre soon because all of his movies have seemed to have gone straight to DVD which is not a good start in an actors career. I've seen the girl who is playing the lead, Teresa Palmer, in other movies like I Am Four and Warm Bodies and she just seems to act the same. She looks very much like Kirsten Stewart who also has an emotionless way of acting. Anyway, this movie really needed someone to pick up the draggy storyline.

I recommend this movie to people who are into there drama/romance movies about a man who trying to get his girlfriend back on his leave from Vietnam. 3/10

A Good Romantic Movie

[anthonydapiii · 5/10 · 5 May 2020]

I enjoyed watching this entire movie.

Nothing like a romantic movie centered around one of the major wars we've had in the past.

Is this a joke?

[ryrymadrid · 1/10 · 16 June 2022]

Was this movie really meant to be taking place in the 1960s? It looks like a bunch of kids playing dress up and pretending to put on a play. Such and ugly and unbelievable film and story. Stay away.

Disapointed

[ashleynphotographer · 2/10 · 1 December 2020]

Love and Honor: This movie depicts life during the Vietnam War. It highlights what America was like during this period of history. The movie emphases the hippy point-of-view, and two soldiers who have to choose whether or not to serve their country, or run from the draft/war zone. The movie was disappointing. The one young man, who you think has honor, courage, and loyalty for his country, chooses to abandon his duty and run away with a hippy. The other, who is a playboy, decides to stick to his unit abandoning the girl whom he loves. It is the story of choices. Like the war it was about, the movie did not have a happy ending. Two sexual scenes, both fairly discrete, but not appropriate for young children. Lots of profanity throughout! Overall, I counted approximately fifty one swear words! A one-time-view. On a positive note, the actors and actresses played their roles well. The concept of highlighting both viewpoints, of this terrible war, was well played. As someone who loves America and believes in fighting for it, this movie was disappointing.

Profanity: B--- (1), H--- (12), D--- (8), S---- (12), A-- (7), F--- (3), G--- D--- (5), and names of God (3).

Inappropriate: 8 Words

Horrible, terrible, awful movie - made me sick - Political Rant follows

[wbusonline · 1/10 · 3 July 2015]

This is my first review so I checked the spoiler box since my review is going to be one that I am not sure counts as a spoiler, since the movie was so terrible! My father and two uncles served in Vietnam, lost my father and for any writer to write a script that would have a soldier put getting laid over defending the men he serves with is a disgrace. This movie should have been banned and never aired period! These two soldiers go awol over a girl which is maybe OK in a movie, but then run into people who call them baby killers and badmouth the troops and neither of them stand up one bit for the men that were at the time dieing over there and whom they had been fighting along side for 6 months!! All of this so one of them can get laid and the other win his girl back as the storyline goes. These men came home to this crap and I know there is no soldier ever that would put up with it for two so trivial and stupid reasons. Yes get your girl back but no he would not put up with the bad mouthing of his men, and absolutely no way would a soldier go along with it just to get laid!! Movie was pointless, had no good plot, no chemistry (Liam was awful), and no real romance considering it is supposed to be a romance/drama/"war" movie (war thrown in to attract men to watch)! Movie seemed to glamorize the peace loving hippy movement that started the soldier hating in the first place! Wes

Insulting to its viewer's intelligence

[lisimae · 1/10 · 20 November 2015]

This film is insulting to the intelligence of its audience; it trivialises the Vietnam war whilst completely ignoring the atrocities that American soldiers both experienced and performed. The two main male characters are portrayed as not feeling responsibility for any of their actions throughout the movie. On top of this, it is entirely inaccurate in both costume & setting, portraying these in an over-clichéd manner (you could have bought the costumes in a 60s themed party shop). To make matters worse, none of the characters have any depth nor do they arouse empathy in the viewer. Needless to say, I would advise watching a different movie.

For viewers who can't get enough to hear about how bad the Vietnam war really was

[jordondave-28085 · 4/10 · 20 April 2023]

(2013) Love And Honor ROMANTIC DRAMA

This movie is like watching the stocks exchange, where it sometimes goes up and down, and then it falls so far down that it can't get back up again. It takes place sometime during the first moon landing in 1969, during which was also when Americans were still fighting in the Vietnam war. Anyways, the set up has army soldier, Dalton Joiner (Austin Stowell) having a keen eye on some very thin wire, and was admired for it by former soldier, Mickey Wright (Liam Hemsworth). By the time this particular regimen group got to Hong Kong for a week of 'R&R', 'rest and recuperation', 'rest and relaxation' or 'rest and recreation', Dalton decides to use his by flying back to a small town in the United States to see his girlfriend, Jane (Aimee Teegarden). And because, Mickey has already built a rapport with him, he decides to go with him. Anyways, a portion of this film centers on a silly white lie, since the group of people Dalton and Mickey are living with are protestors against the Vietnam war. And it was also during at this point I start to role my eyes, and start to cringe at some scenes just because the movie lectures us, like the Vietnam War was still happening as viewers are watching it. So it's like, why are we going back to listen to opinions about it like it's still happening.