Platoon

This is a fascinating fact about Vietnam war movies, of which I have watched several. It seems like the less accurate they are, the more acclaimed they become. The stupider the movie, the more Hollywood likes it, and really that’s to their liking, since the less accurate, the more it indicts the government and the war itself, even though its meaningless, and doesn’t accomplish anything but defaming the legacy or perfectly respectable veterans alongside the shameful ones.

This is basically an exploration of what it’s like to be in Vietnam through the eyes of a fresh private (Charlie Sheen, Money Talks) as he deals with the conflicts within his battalion between company leaders and the general nightmare situations which are the scene of war. 

The plot is meant to feel excruciating to simulate the circumstances of war, and the futility in which the army was supposedly engineered. I think Forest Gump is a better Vietnam movie, frankly, and I think this movie is ridiculous. I think there were a lot of mistakes in Vietnam, but the exaggerations are all that Platoon portrays, The performances of Sheen, and Willem Defoe (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zisou) are really spellbinding, but the purpose of the film just detracts so much from the quality of it’s production. 

I have to give this movie a 2, because it’s a must see, but you wont’ be happy after you watch it, and I wish I could give it a 1. I usually like stuff from Oliver Stone (Dir. Natural Born Killers) but this one, supposedly his masterwork, is kind of discgraceful.