The Gulf War has just ended, and Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) has been back on American soil for six months. Serling, a tank commander during the Gulf War, was involved in a 'friendly fire' incident that took the lives of a tank crew under his command, including his best friend.

A cursory military investigation of the incident has cleared him of all wrong-doing, but he has been unable to reconcile his involvement, preferring to blame himself for the deaths. His personal demons are slowly but surely alienating him from his career and family, and threaten to destroy his marriage. Despite an official clean bill of health, the incident has damaged Serling's career and he is passed over for promotion, being assigned a desk job investigating Gulf War medal recommendations. One of these cases is a Medal of Honor recommendation for Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), a medevac helicopter pilot killed while attempting to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter.

Should the recommendation be approved, Captain Walden would be the very first female recipient of the award. Ever mindful of PR opportunities, representatives of the White House and Congress are extremely keen for the recommendation to be approved, giving the President an opportunity to hang the medal on Captain Walden's young daughter in the White House lawn (before the eyes of the press, naturally). However, when Serling begins to dig into the events surrounding Captain Walden's death, his suspicion is aroused by the surviving crew's differing accounts of what actually occurred. Despite growing pressure from all quarters to sign off on the case, Serling refuses to submit his report until he has uncovered the truth about Walden's death, while hopefully exorcising a few personal demons in the process.

Courage Under Fire is well-written with a tight script that includes some interesting twists and turns along the way. Denzel Washington is superb in one of his best roles in recent years, while Meg Ryan is surprisingly good playing against type. The film's supporting cast is also noteworthy, including Scott Glenn, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty and an extraordinarily emaciated Matt Damon, all giving excellent performances. Although some may complain that the film's ending is a little too neat and somewhat predictable, the journey there is an extremely satisfying experience. Highly recommended.