Platoon

The first film from acclaimed director Oliver Stone (JFK, Natural Born Killers, W.) and winner of four Academy Awards, is perhaps the director’s most personal and intimate motion picture; as he draws on his own experiences of Vietnam to portray a gritty, human and effectively real depiction of a soldier’s experience in the ‘Nam.

The semi-autobiographical picture is narrated by young college drop-out Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), who joins the ranks of Bravo Company in 1967, right in the height of the Vietnam War. At first enthusiastic to fight for his country, the realities of the situation begin to weigh him down, as the harsh and exhausting conditions of fighting on the Cambodian border begin to take their effect. He finds solace amongst his fellow soldiers, as he is accepted amongst the ranks of a tight-knit group within the unit, finding a mentor figure in Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). However, a battle for his soul soon wages between Elias and the brutal and ruthless Sergeant Barnes. The tension between Elias and Barnes threatens to reach boiling point as the horrors of war begin to take an effect on the men, as sure enough they find that they are not only fighting the NVA, but also themselves.

Platoon easily lives up to its reputation as one of the most critically acclaimed and respected War movies ever made. It truly is a very different War movie compared to what came before it. Gone is the Americana spirit of John Wayne movies of old, in favour of a cynical, brutal and true portrayal of an experience of war. The greatest threat for these men is not the enemy that they have travelled thousands of miles to face; it is their own ‘brothers in arms’ who pose the greatest threat, exposing the duality of man, fighting a war they simply do not care about.

For a down-to-earth, intimate portrayal, featuring a cast of brilliant actors (yes, Charlie Sheen amongst them) that bring Stone’s lyrical screenplay to vivid life.

Andrew Gaudion

A gritty and emotional look at the lives of a platoon of American soldiers as they patrol, fight and die in the jungles of Vietnam as seen through the perspective of a young recruit. Two veteran sergeants clash when one of them precipitates a massacre of villagers. The first movie in Vietnam veteran Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy.

Anonymous