War Bus (1986)

"Soldier, you've got to ride the bus!" - Major Kutran

Soldiers in the Vietnam war use a school bus to get their mission done.
Starring: Daniel Stephen, Ramona Kristoff, Urs Althaus, Ernie Zarate

Link to IMDB

Three American soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines in the Vietnam jungle, and are forced to commandeer a yellow school bus to get back to safety. Along for the ride are a few Christian missionaries that just had their schoolhouse blown to smithereens.
The soldiers are typical tough guys, led by the fearless Sgt. Dixie. It's not exactly a happy atmosphere on the bus, as the soldier's taking control causes stress and confusion about what kind of danger everyone is getting into. The civilians are a mixed group of people, each with a tiny bit of backstory to give us an idea of what they're capable of. Most notable is a retired Major, he knows the lay of the land better than the soldiers do and becomes their advisor as the War Bus heads off into the jungle.


Tensions rise as they travel through war torn areas, and the civilians debate if they should abandon the soldiers or if they need them for protection. There are lots of explosions and gunfights at every obstacle, but the movie also focuses on the human interactions, showing how the ugly horrors of war affect the characters differently.
It's not long before everyone realizes they all need to work together on the War Bus if they want to survive. The soldiers go on a mission to sneak into an enemy camp for fuel and supplies, and when they get pinned down it's War Bus to the rescue as the civilians prove their valor! There's still a long road ahead, but the enemy infested jungle is starting to take its toll on everyone (including the old bus.)

Major Kutran

Dixie

Even at a brief 80 minutes, the movie starts to run out of steam near the end. The gunfights get repetitive and the characters aren't deep enough for us to really care about most of them. The bus itself seriously becomes the character I was rooting for. The concept of a bus in the middle of a war is fully explored, so the movie does deliver what the title promises. Lots of War Bus action!
It's easy to find laughs here despite the serious delivery, because the characters do dumb and eccentric things and not many movies have a bus as a war hero. I debated on the Ham rating for this one, because the flaws are minor, but the eventual monotony was a slight disappointment.




Be sure not to miss:
- If you don't follow orders, Dixie will dropkick you in the chest!
- "The battery is the soul of the bus."
- Rats enough!

Internet review:
"What it lacked in good gas mileage, it made up for with bravado." - Monsterhunter

Should I watch it?
It's a hidden gem worth checking out as a unique war movie.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

War Bus gets...