An absolute great film

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2014)

This is no way is to be an action-packed war film. Born on the Fourth of July is to show the brutality of war, and turn an over-patriotic pro-war American into realizing he has been wrong all along.
Ron Kovic is the typical Cold War American kid: loves the United States, hates Communism, and wants to fight the "Commie Reds" if he ever got the chance to. He grows up liking war as a kid. However, he knows for a fact that every time he seen American WW2 veterans marching down the street on July 4th that he wanted to be in the military. Finally, when the United States throws itself in Vietnam, Ron immediately wants to enlist. He leaves behind the girl he likes, friends, and family in place for the U.S. Marines. When he is sent over he can't wait for action. However, being a sergeant, Ron orders his squad to clear out a village the Marines just shot the crap out of. This involves him and his squad being ambushed and begin shooting back. They then find out that among the Vietnamese casualties they inflicted were civilians. Ron is surprised that he took part in killing innocent people, but then is ordered by his superiors to retreat as a Viet Cong advancement starts. When they back out of the town the battle becomes confusing, and when a fellow Marine steps out of the fog Ron shoots him, mistaking him for being a charging Viet Cong soldier. Ron then reports to the Lieutenant for what happened about killing civilians and friendly fire, but the Lt. says "They got in the way. It's not your fault" and "You didn't shoot your own man," refusing to acknowledge.
Later on patrol, Ron and other Marines are ambushed, and he gets paralysed in the spine and shot in the foot. Afterward he is sent to a battlefield hospital where he thinks he is going to die. He is then sent back to the United States to spend his time in a down-ridden and ugly hospital for Vietnam veterans. This is good that the producers exemplified this as it shows how the U.S. government poorly treated those who fought in the Vietnam War.
Even though being told that he cannot walk again and through the injustices of war he experienced, Ron still holds true his patriotic views of the United States and Marines. A lot of the times he begins to feel how the government is essentially treating them in the poor hospital conditions and uses the War as a way to get attention. Pretty much he says stuff like "I deserve better because I fought for my country, I'm a Vietnam Vet." Now, of course Vietnam Vets deserved to be treated better, but Ron still doesn't ridicule the War or government. He uses it as a way to seem like a hero, just the WW2 veterans he seen as a kid.
He returns home hoping to be seen as a hero to everyone. Ron sees how the U.S. has changed" anti-war riots and people burning flags and vowing for peace. Nothing about "kill the Commies", or "trump on Vietnam and defeat the Soviets". Ron also finds out that his brother has become an anti-war person and shows strong resentment for. As well, Ron sees the effect of the war on how life was before: having his legs and not being paralysed. He also sees how different the people receive him as a "hero" on Independence Day by yelling anti-war slogans. After having a fight with a WW2 vet who shown no sympathy for saying "Shove your Vietnam war up your a--" (because Ron tried sound patriotic because he took part in a war) he gets into a fight with his family by confessing he killed innocent people, and defying the religious values he was taught as a kid.
Ron decides to go to a Mexican village where many other Vietnam Vets have gone to relax. He meets up with a fellow Vet in a wheelchair and both decide the Mexican village has no worth for them and want to travel some place else, but get stranded and fight against each other. However, they hitch a ride with a truck driver who drives them back to the same village they came from. After this Ron goes to Georgia and stops by the Marine's family's house who he killed in Vietnam. Ron explains to the family and widow that it was a confusing time in the battle and did not truly mean to kill Wilson, the Marine's name. Wilson's parents forgive him, especially the father who was a WW2 veteran and understands the confusing time of war. But, Wilson's wife says she can't forgive him, but hopes God can.
From there, Ron goes to Florida to protest with the Vietnam Vets Against the War (VVAW). He tells the fellow veterans his story and why he now hates the government and the war, but not his country. Republican supporters try to silence Ron and the VVAW for their anti-war slogans, even if they haven't gone to war but the people in the VVAW have and know what they are talking about. After being kicked out, Ron writes a book named "Born on the Fourth of July", and the movie ends with him speaking to crowd about how the Vietnam War was wrong, mirroring how earlier as a child his mother said "I see you speaking to a large group of people saying great things." This movie is absolutely good, and shows how ridiculous it is to support war, or a country who doesn't care about those who were physically or mentally wounded from it. Ron went from a pro-war American who thought "like it or leave it" to resenting the American government for its pro-war agenda to supposedly "fight Communism" without caring much for the actual young men who are sent to fight the wars.