A Dark, Depressing Apology for Vietnam That Never Fully Connects Emotionally

Rating: 5/10 (18 April 2012)

The second of Oliver Stone's three films on the subject of Vietnam, this one stars Tom Cruise as Ron Kovic, a wounded war vet who comes home to discover the grateful reception he expected isn't waiting for him. Though the film is closely based on a true story, it also functions as a rather obvious metaphor for the rapid transition of America's public attitude from the happy-go-lucky family values of the '50s to the conspiratorial uncertainty of the early '70s. At the time this was something of a reach for Cruise, who was only just starting to branch out into serious roles, and the strong performance opened up new horizons for his career. His acting shines, especially in the dark, depressing pits to which his character eventually sinks, but the storyline could use some smoothing. Almost overnight Kovic's attitudes about his country spin 180-degrees, swapping one extreme perspective for another just minutes after he's shouted down his younger brother over the kitchen table for doing the same thing. An awkward almost-love-story is shoehorned into his character arc, then disappears around the middle of the picture and never resurfaces. It's a passionate rallying cry for the cause of the railroaded, confused Vietnam vets who were punished for doing what they thought was the right thing, but despite several strong performances from its cast it's needlessly long and routinely uneven.