Review: Glory

As part of my last-minute push to watch as many Netflix movies as possible before they end their DVD-by-mail service, I watched the movie Glory with my son. Glory tell the story of Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War. It was the first Army unit to be comprised entirely of black soldiers, though the officers were white.

The parts like I liked the best were:

• When Shaw confronts the S-4 to demand shoes. Rank is for service, not status, and Shaw shows himself to be a good commander by using his position to get what his soldiers need.
• When Shaw confronts his commander to get his regiment into combat.The 54th's soldiers didn't don't join the Army to do hard labor; they join the Army to fight. Shaw believed enough to give them that chance.
• The scene where SGM Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) confronts PVT Trip (Denzel Washington). Trip is angry and cynical, perhaps deservedly so. But Rawlins puts things in a different perspective.
• The part when Shaw reflects on his imminent death before the assault on Fort Wagner. Shaw gets off his horse, draws his sword, and stands at the head of the column leading the charge. Command isn't always leading from the front, per se, but it is about sharing in your soldiers' hardships.