Really, really, overrated.

Rating: 3/10 (11 June 2003)

So much praise for such a preachy film.
Let's see, our Vietnam soldiers were baby and wife killers who would even kill each other to cover up their crimes, right?
Well, that's what Stone would have you believe in this complete slap to the face of any real Veteran.
While Speilberg and others could show the horror of war while still not insulting our men/women who served, Stone shows our men as essentially slime.
This is not to say there are not parts in the movie that are not well done. But as others have noted, this film pales in comparison to other well done films. Plenty of films with the same message (horror of war, evil in men) such as Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket tower way above this one.

But Stone can't handle subtlety, so he has to beat you over the head with how truly evil our Amercian soldiers were in his eyes. Besides the preaching, all of these characters are rather predictable card board cutouts. Not that great of a film, really, and very much overrated. Would be good for all the anti-war protestor types, however.