Napalm Can't Smell that Good

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2019)

War movies such as this put me in an emotional quandary which makes it hard for me to judge them. On the one hand there is so much death, destruction, and madness which is so troubling, disturbing, and gut-wrenching. I hate it. There is very little positive that can be seen in it. It's destructive for the "liberated" and the "liberators."
And on the other hand there is so much death, destruction, and madness which is real. If you're going to show a war movie then be real about it. As much as I hate to see the disturbing acts and results of war, I'd ate it more if they covered it up. To sugarcoat and euphemize war is a greater wrong.
Apocalypse Now was ugly. There was nothing glamorous, pretty, or clean about it. It was so dirty and raw it left a stain on your conscience. But even in all the filth and grime of this war film I couldn't help but marvel at the young Martin Sheen and how I only saw Charlie Sheen and then just as suddenly I'd see Emilio Esteves.