Visceral and violent war film by Oliver Stone based on his own soldier experiences in Vietnam

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2017)

A very strong and tough Vietnam war film made by Oliver Stone who has directed his film in the form of Patrol Drama , a formula much beloved by filmmakers of Hollywood , War and western movies , and revived successfully by this great director . As a shy soldier , Charlie Sheen in the lead , arrives as a rookie in a veteran platoon led by two very different sergeants , the good boy : Willem Defoe , and the bad guy : Tom Berenger. They are accompanied by a motley group of soldiers as John G. Mcginley , Kevin Dillon , Tony Todd , Francesco Quinn , all of them are resplendent , among others.
A Grunt's view of the Vietnam war is provided in all terrible , bloody and violent detail . Blundering and interesting Vietnam war film pre-dating the flood of the eighties and early nineties . It describes a pretty crude portrayal of America's thunderous days in Vietnam . Including a realist and thought-provoking dialog plenty of profanities , bad taste , sexual remarks and dealing with foreign intervention . Wooden acting by Charlie Sheen as naive soldier , it made a star out of Sheen and Stone cast him in his followup film : Wall Street . Charlie Sheen is the central figure in this exciting story through whose shell-shocked eyes we watch the violent events , slaughters , crossfires and atrocities. But here stand out Dafoe and Berenguer , both are top-notch as , respectively , the good and bad sergeants . Support cast is frankly excellent , as you will spot stars and prestigious secondaries in waiting as Johnny Depp , Forest Whitaker , Mark Moses , Tony Todd , Dale Dye and Kevin Dillon brother of Matt Dillon . And brief cameo by Oliver Stone himself . Bloody final reflects the bitterness and disillusion felt by most Americans about Vietnam war .
Colorful and evocative cinematography by Robert Richardson . Perceptible and sensitive score by George Delerue , adding the famous adagio by Samuel Barber . Very good and graphic violent direction from Oliver stone who based the movie on his own GI experiences . It won Oscars for best picture , edition , sound and best director , being highly considered ; that's why it is deemed by many to be the most realistic and violent portrayal of the war on movie . It forms a trilogy about Vietnam along with ¨Born on the fourth of July¨ and ¨Heaven and Earth¨ directed splendidly by the fearless Oliver Stone . He gives a sour description about Vietnam war , a brutal vision of the conflict as witnessed first hand by the ordinary foot soldiers or Grunts.