Best War Picture Made To Date

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2002)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Viewed by many Vietnam veterans as the most accurate portrayal of the war, Platoon is an examplary masterpiece. Platoon is less a war movie than the ultimate clash between good and evil, and between those two forces is the main character Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen). Volunteering for the war, not drafted, the main character quickly learns what he has really signed up for, and he is definetaly not ready. Being blown away by the helicopter that sets him down, body bags of all the dead fly away and we see what the future holds for our main character and for the entire movie.
Platoon presents itself in sections, first being the welcome to Vietnam, making friends, and deciding what kind of people you plan to spend your time with there. It basically comes down to three groups in Vietnam, the weed-smoking grunts which view the war in a calm manner, the booze drinking officers and wannabe officers who do whatever they say, right or wrong, and the commanders and regular drafted grunts which aren't followed that closely.
Chris chooses to join the pothead group, run by Seargent Elias (Willem Dafoe), which treats him kindly and is offenly attacked by the other main group, run by Seargent Barnes (Tom Berenger). Under Barnes's brutal command Chris and his fellow soldiers, who have lost the regard for human life under Barnes's command, are ordered to search a town of Vietnamese people who are totally innocent and then burn the entire village, and kill whoever they think is the enemy. Chris is pulled into Barnes's plans but quickly realises that he has made a horrible mistake when Elias brings everyone to their senses and tells Barnes he will do everything in his power to court marshall him. Knowning that he will be shamed and given a discharge from the Marines if Elias gets his way, Barnes shoots Elias in the middle of the jungle during a firefight. Chris is sent to find Elias but instead finds Barnes, Barnes tells him Elias was shot by the VC and he is dead. Soon after the platoon leaves on choppers only to see from a bird's eye view that Elias, full of bullet holes, uses his last amount of soul and energy to try to escape from the VC which are simeltaneously shooting him in the back, and there is nothing the rest of the platoon can do. Chris finally realizes what he has to do to justify Elias's death ,and what he feels, justifies every wrong doing that has been commited in Vietnam by soldier to fellow soldier.
Best movie made in the 1980's and surrely the most realistic look at the war in Vietnam and the politics that were involved.