Not pleasant (is war ever?)

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2002)

Vietnam, to most other countries, probably has the same meaning as 'nostril' and 'book'--pointless. But here in America, it is a very sensitive issue that even today is hard to bring up and still be far in opinion without sounding bias or snobbish. "Platoon" takes the uncomfortable situation of being in a foreign, hostile country with comrades who can be as psychotic as the enemy and weighing that on your conscience for two hours. It isn't a film where you can sit back, relax, and watch the fireworks. You must use your mind to consider the situations of the unit and "think with them" to a degree. The first half, set in 1967, takes us into the war only two years old and rapidly gaining unpopularity at home. By the end, 1968, we come face to face with battle in a fashion not jingoistic like John Wayne or gritty like Saving Private Ryan, but rather a punch in the gut that doesn't try and give you $100 million explosions and brand-name actors looking clean and cocky. In all fairness, they are ugly, tired, and their mixed emotions of the growing conflict they're embroiled in is eating away at them faster than the leeches. I praise Oliver Stone for not putting 'glory' in the public sense of it into the film and presenting just how hellish, up-close-and-personal, and unforgiving war can be. I guess only by serving yourself can you truly understand what it's like.