This was the film that put Colin Farrell on the map. Great, character-driven drama about the Vietnam war era and the draft with all its consequences. Farrell shows amazing leading-man charisma, and after his performance here it was clear he was going to be a huge star. 8 stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:imdb.com/list/ls070242495

I'd gotten the impression that this was just another autobiographical study of the hardships of an Army training camp, rather like "Jarhead." Instead, it's an interesting piece about suffering, responsibility, and testosterone.It's 1971. Colin Farrell and Mathew Davis are friends, sort of, just out of basic training, now in infantry school in the Louisiana. The final week is spent at an isolated camp which replicates the conditions of Vietnam, called Tigerland. Soldiers speak of Tigerland in hushed, frightened voices.I don't know why they dread it so much because, as it turns out, except for one psychopathic maniac, it's not that much worse than infantry school. The sergeants should foul curses at the men, shove them, kick them, beat them to the ground and literally make them eat dirt.Plaudits for the photography, the casting, the performances, and the direction, which, thank Bog, doesn't use a wobbling camera except for a few minutes during a live fire exercise. No CGIs and no slow motion action. Nobody runs away from an exploding fireball. Nothing explodes. What a relief.The plot is an amalgam of elements familiar from other stories. There is the non-conformist who invites disaster by not cowering like everyone else -- "From Here To Eternity," "Cool Hand Luke." The soldier who is a natural leader of men but continually turns down responsibility -- "To Hell And Back," "Fixed Bayonets." The main message of the movie shouldn't raise anyone's hackles. Vietnam was a pointless shedding of blood, but it's not the Army's fault. They do everything possible to prepare the men for combat, even if it looks (and is) sadistic. The war was foolish but the men in uniform aren't to blame. How can it be wrong?

TIGERLAND takes place entirely within the confines of Infantry Training at Fort Polk, LA, and its immediate surroundings, 1971. The film itself does NOT actually go to Vietnam.The whole character of Roland Bozz (memorably played by Colin Farrell) is utterly intriguing. He's a bit overblown: A would-be perfect soldier, perfect leader, perfect shot, in perfect physical and mental condition. . .a rough, cynical, yet still paradoxically gentle character who just doesn't like armies and war and killing. Nevertheless, I think it would have detracted from the film if Bozz were not a bit larger-than-life. Ditto for the other characters, including the sergeants (both the cruel, sadistic, war-maddened ones and the tough but professional ones) and the other trainees (an interesting and convincing bunch of mixed motivations). While TIGERLAND's plot is quite gripping, it's essentially a character-driven film in the end, and the exemplary acting by just about everyone is what makes it such a success.I've noticed some other reviewers'--some of whom actually trained at Fork Polk during the Vietnam years--objections to TIGERLAND's depiction of the U.S. Army, particularly in regards to its training methods and employment of borderline-psychotic instructors. Duly noted, but it's safe to say that the U.S. military HAS made ample use of such methods/people at various times and places in the past. The film may not be perfectly realistic in every respect; however, it's also important to remember that it's set at a time when America, though still anemically hoping to win in Vietnam and still sending unfortunate draftees to same, was also trying to extricate itself from a war whose futility was becoming increasingly obvious. TIGERLAND captures the special malaise of the early '70s war with dead-eyed accuracy. Most importantly of all, it's a compelling portrayal of an anti-hero fighting against an army and system that doesn't play by any fair rules--not even its own.

While it was filmed at a Florida National Guard site, "Tigerland" totally reminded me of Fort Polk, LA., firing ranges, maneuver areas, waist-deep water and all. The movie was fairly authentic and the characters similar to those same ones at my AIT in 1974. The difference between the Tigerland year, 1971, and mine of 1974 is all the drill sergeants and instructors knew they weren't going back to Vietnam, as it was pretty much all over, so training was very relaxed - not a challenge at all. That was the precursor to all our troubles in the 70s and 80s, which I know for a fact as I stayed in until 2004. I never heard anyone mention "Tigerland" but the Army did have realistic Vietnam training villages at different bases across the U.S. Vietnam Vets tell me that up to 1972 Basic & AIT could be pretty rough and rugged, because the trainers had been there and were mandated to train Vietnam-bound men those skills to make it, although that was not always the case. Both a drill sergeant at Polk and later one of my Vietnam Vet NCOs, when we had become instructors at a basic training brigade at Fort Bliss, told me there was nothing they could do to get anyone ready and people just had to find out and figure out for themselves. This movie rates high.