One of the most ambitious epics of all time - ****

Rating: 9/10 (31 May 2002)

I've always seen there as being two types of movies: Solid, well written movies that follow most basic fundamentals, and ambitious epics, that take risks and create something that is maybe a little unorthodox. "Apocalypse Now" is virtually the epitome of the latter. It throws away standard narrative rules, and establishes itself as a tour de force of visually achievement.
The plot is interesting, but flawed. Adapted from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", it moves the story from 19th century imperialist Africa to Vietnam. Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) is on a mission to "terminate with extreme prejudice", a renegade colonel, Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has created an army of natives and holed up somewhere in Cambodia. Willard is to travel up river to find him. Along the way, he comes across many encounters that make him realize the insanity and horror of Vietnam. While it is mostly excellent, the ending is a little unfocused.
Willard is a superbly developed character. He begins in a paradox - he hates to be in the jungle and he hates to be on leave, trapped in the city. He is simply following orders. Along the journey, reading about Col. Kurtz, he begins to identify with him. Every character is acted perfectly, except for Kurtz. It seems that Brando had little focus about what he wanted his character to be like, and it shows. Robert Duvall particularly does an excellent job as Lt. Col. Kilgore, who is obsessed with surfing.
The technical achievements of this movie are in its visuals and its atmosphere. The atmosphere of going up the river, further into a strange, unknown land, is incredible. As Willard travels into the jungle, he becomes more and more like Kurtz, the setting parallelling his descent into madness. Visually, this movie is one of the greatest of all time. The entire helicopter raid sequence is perhaps the best fifteen or twenty minutes ever committed to film. It is indescribable - rather, it must be viewed to appreciate.
This film is rich and complex in its themes. The insanity of war, and a man's descent into madness are in the forefront. Willard originally sees the reason to kill Kurtz, but as he encounters the horrors of Vietnam, he begins to more and more understand Kurtz's actions, and almost become him. Obviously, there are also parallels to "Heart of Darkness", viewing Vietnam as an imperialistic undertaking by America.
"Apocalypse Now" is not a flawless movie. However, it is an incredible epic, extremely well made, which presents important themes. It certainly ranks as one of the most influential movies of the latter half of the twentieth century.