Platoon

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2016)

As a pacifist, I don't find myself watching a war movie too often. That being said, I found Platoon, the 1986 Best Picture winner written and directed by Oliver Stone to be an engaging film. I do find myself a fan of Oliver Stone, so I'm sure that helped with my overall assessment of the film.
Platoon tells the story of a college-aged man, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) who volunteers for active service during the Vietnam conflict. Chris endures what most everyone who saw active duty during the conflict endured, the horrors of death and violence. In addition to the horrors of war, Chris also endured the moral conflict that was rife through Vietnam. He watched entire villages decimated because the men in his platoon thought it was funny. he witnessed one member of his platoon, Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) stand up for the injustices they were witnessing, only to be murdered by another member of the platoon, Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). The conflict can't end soon enough for Chris after all that he has seen.
Oliver Stone goes to great lengths in this film to show the horrors of war often ignored in American media; the mistreatment of people in the invaded country. It was an important light to shine on the reality of war. Stone himself, being a Vietnam veteran, focused carefully on this issue, showing war's horrors without assessing blame on the individuals performing the attacks. Stone isn't seeking to blame the soldiers themselves, but rather take a systemic look at the realities war brings. I will probably never watch Platoon again, but I am happy to have seen it at least once.