I thought it was fairly well done, considering the limitations they were working under. The US Army wouldn't allow the film-makers to use American-made M1 tanks as portrayed in the film. The Army won't cooperate with any endeavor that puts the US military in a less-than-flattering light.
So the film-makers used German-made Canadian Army Leopard I tanks dressed up to look like M1's. They did a fairly good job that might have fooled anyone not familiar with the Abrams.
I thought the film went a little overboard on Denzel Washington's pre-battle speech. Although my Gulf unit didn't see any actual combat, a tanker's attitude is usually little more than "Let's get this shit done."
One authemtic detail the film did well was showing the interior and exterior of the tanks they way they were during the war. The tanks were crammed with equipment, gear, personal baggage, etc, and piled all over the exterior of the turrets. That was well-done. Movies usually show tanks as being spacious and roomy, with none of the food, water, ammunition and paraphernalia that is always to be found jammed into the tank under real-life conditions. Sean Astin as the beefy tank gunner was a nice touch. I knew a few thin, wispy tank crewmen. But most tankers are beefy, muscular, or otherwise well-fed. The demands of the job require a lot of heavy lifting.
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