The disillusionment of war

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2019)

The film that showed the world Tom Cruise's thespian skills, Born on the fourth of July is a great Vietnam war film by Oliver Stone that is still held in high esteem by many people. The movie is based on the real-life story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a decorated Marine who was in his second tour of duty in Vietnam when he was critically injured. Upon his return to the United States, Kovic became a vocal anti-war protestor. The thing best accomplished by Born on the Fourth of July is its contrasting of the glorious illusion of war as seen from thousands of miles away to the barbarity of it up-close. Kovic's change in perspective becomes the filter through which we view Vietnam. His gradual disillusionment with the government and the military is given weight because of events in his life. When Stone made this movie in 1988-89, he was looking back roughly 15 years; the intervening time has served only to sharpen the focus. Nothing about Born on the Fourth of July is dated; it remains an involving tale of innocence lost and of war and its unintended consequences.