The Vietnam War at its worst

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2003)

As the poignant tagline says, "Even in war, murder is murder." Based on a true even that occured during the Vietnam War in 1966, DePalma's gritty psychological drama depicts the capture, molestation, and eventual execution of a Vietnamese citizen by a US army squad, and the struggle within the ranks between the low-down squad leader (Penn) and the lone soldier who refuses to go along with the awful deeds of the rest of the group, Fox, who proves his ability at delivering a solid dramatic performance, while the former is frightening and excellent as the antagonistic sergeant. One of the grittiest Vietnam War films ever, the audience is constantly aware the violence and insanity of war and its worst events. Among the best of the 1980s line of Vietnam War dramas.