Brutal war story

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2014)

Platoon has the honor of being the first Vietnam War film made by an actual Vietnam War veteran. Director Oliver Stone based the film on his own experiences in the jungle and the end result was one of the most bleak, violent, unforgiving and brutal war movies made by then.
The film might also contain the best performance from Charlie Sheen we've ever seen. Chris Taylor is an innocent American youngster freshly recruited into the war effort, forced to grow up quickly within the terror of the battlefield. He's also torn between two man, the sergeants of the company, played by Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. Theirs is a private war of ideals and ways of surviving. Both are amazing soldiers, but whereas Dafoe's Elias still holds onto his ideals, Berenger's Barnes is ready and in reality rather willing to do what it takes to finish the mission and survive.
And from those story elements we end up getting a harrowing journey through the battlefields, hardships, loss and Pyrrhic victories. Platoon shines because of its non-compromising tone, its actors, its intensity and its vision to tell about the war through the eyes of someone who's been there. It belongs to the elite of war movies for a reason and is easily recommended.