Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog returns to direct his first feature since 2001's Invincible with this dramatic action film inspired by his own 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and detailing the escape efforts of a German-American pilot who was taken as a prisoner-of-war after being shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. When U.S. fighter pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) escaped death after being shot down over one of the most intense front lines in the Vietnam War, his troubles were only beginning. Subsequently taken captive by the enemy and forced to endure a harrowing stint in a Vietnamese prison camp, Dengler and his fellow captives stag a death-defying escape that would later inspire one of German's most accomplished directors to capture the remarkable tale on camera.

Knowledge of the truth around this incident made this movie somewhat less enjoyable for me..... learning of the protests about alleged inaccurate portrayal of real people, and inaccuracy about incidents reduced it's impact. I am aware of "artistic licence", but in this instance, it ruined it for me.
Christian Bale however, did a fantastic job....with weight manipulation not seen since Robert de Niro in Raging Bull.