MovieChat Forums > Courage Under Fire (1996) Discussion > At the very end of the movie....

At the very end of the movie....

posted 16 years ago by pconyers
6 replies | jump to latest

It was hard for me to tell but to me it APPEARED at the very end of the movie the scene was from where Denzel's character had the incident where he shot the wrong tank and all it looked like Meg's character was one of the chopper pilots that came in to rescue some of the soliders. If so, was that maybe some of the motivation he had for pursuing the truth so hard?

Or was it not from that scene or was it just a little shot of her flying the movie director gave us at the end of the movie? Or was it Denzel's character imagining her in a chopper flying?

[–] howard849 16 years ago

I've also wondered about that in the past. In the last 2 minutes I managed to catch the very end of the movie and hit this thread.

Here's my take on this. He closes his eyes and plays through a scene in his head and it's not for the first time. He opens his eyes and smiles. But the smile is for himself, he's finally at peace with what he's done, he can face his wife and has confidence that the metal went to someone who did deserve it. It's his own redemption he's smiling about. A fitting end to a great movie.

But others may see it differently...

[–] MuchToBeGratefulFor 16 years ago

I just thought it was Denzel's character imagining her in a chopper flying. To me, she looked happy and confident, which is how he could remember her because as he told his superior and the Washington Times guy, the report honored her by telling the truth.

You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi

[–] ceemsc 15 years ago

I think it can be potentially both and is an excellent end to the film.

Real:

Of the several medivac choppers which were used in Desert Storm, why couldn't Captain Walden's be one of those there as well?

Imagined/hoped:

It subtlely indicates an invisible bond & similarity between Denzel Washington's Character's situation and the situation which happened to Captain Walden. Both are on the same side, fighting the same side, same war and yet they both undergo hellish experiences. In that respect Denzel's character is now glad that the truth for both their experiences has been reconciled.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 14 years ago

Agreed, what a great way to end this movie.

"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens.

[–] shawnc101 14 years ago

Remember, that was the continuation of a scene from the beginning of the movie. He was standing beside the destroyed tank watching the helicopter land. Then at the end he saw it take off.