"Born on the Fourth of July" was better

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2006)

Oliver Stone took home his first Best Director Oscar for the hard-hitting "Platoon", about a young soldier (Charlie Sheen) arriving in 1967 Vietnam and experiencing the horrors of US operations there. Although Stone based this movie on his own experiences, I actually wish to assert that "Born on the Fourth of July" was better. I guess that this one seems sort of limited in its focus (I still say that "Apocalypse Now" was the best Vietnam War movie ever).
As for the plot, Sheen is harrowing in the lead role, but the two most harrowing characters are Tom Berenger as the cruel staff sergeant, and Willem Dafoe as the more logical-minded sergeant. The movie shows how Sheen's character is going to have to choose. But no matter what he chooses, the awful memories of this war will haunt him forever.
So, this isn't the greatest Vietnam War movie ever, but definitely worth seeing. Also starring Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon and Johnny Depp.