High octane action and the perseverance of some of the leads elevate "Bat-21" to that higher level of Vietnam movie. Basically the story of how a high-level intelligence officer eludes capture after being shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam, "Bat-21" is relentless and never exploitative. Hackman is Iceal Hambleton, a USAF colonel who fights the war in Vietnam from the offices and golf courses of Saigon. Tasked to identify communist missile sites, he boldly (and unwisely) tags along on an EB-66, an unarmed electronic warfare bird loaded with intelligence equipment. The sole survivor after being shot down, Hambleton finds himself pursued by the enemy who apparently appreciate his value as a prisoner. While the enemy (was it the NVA or the Cong? I could never tell) is unable to find Hambleton, they prove more than capable of making life hell for the rescue choppers sent to rescue him - including the crew of a "Jolly Green" cut to pieces over an enemy-held village. While on the ground, Hambleton stays in contact with Bart Clark (Danny Glover), a USAF captain who flies spotter missions for more heavily armed bombers. (Clark flies FAC - from his slow-moving Cessna, he finds targets for the strike fighters, marking them with white-phosphorous rockets). Knowing that the enemy is monitoring them, Hambleton and Clark work out a code that posits the map of Vietnam as a big golf course. As rescue attempts become more dangerous, Clark finds himself drawn ever deeper into the rescue, climaxing in his going rogue when his superiors throw in the towel."Bat-21" isn't really a classic. There's plenty of thrilling action, and the script even manages to find room for irony (as when Clark pauses during a radio conversation with Hambleton while he zaps a few communist troops). Still, nothing really convincingly explains how Hackman manages to elude capture...by anybody (the script makes clear that he is definitely no Rambo). The film also breezes over the biggest irony - that Hackman's code is based on his smarts on the golf course rather than the battlefield. If the film excels over cheap action flicks, it's in the determination and exhaustion of its leads and persistent refusal to avoid Hollywood glory. Also, unless anybody knows of another film, this is the only one I've seen that captures the critical role played by Forward Air Controllers in both prosecuting the air war in Vietnam, and rescuing those airmen nearly lost.