When Ronnie Comes Marching Home

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2009)

According to the special edition DVD sleeve: "Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Academy Award-winning (for direction and editing) masterpiece. Based on a true story, the acclaimed film follows the young Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War, to an embittered veteran paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country, Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left, and struggled before emerging as a brave new voice for the disenchanted."
If "Platoon" (1986) took you to Vietnam, this film will take you home. It's a tremendous, multi-award winning film for Kovic, Stone, and Cruise. Self-described "pro-soldier" advocates have claimed Vietnam War protesters were "anti-veteran" - which seemed illogical. Herein, they are interested in the individuals' Vietnam War support, not service - which seems logical. Of the many powerful scenes, the one with Kovic finally confessing to an incident of "friendly fire" may be the film's greatest moment; although it didn't happen in real life; it perfectly illustrates the film's overriding thesis:
"The Truth Shall Make You Free."
********* Born on the Fourth of July (12/20/89) Oliver Stone ~ Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry