It's not a movie about the war, it's a movie against it!

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2004)

Oliver Stone's very realistic and strong portrayal of the Vietnam war and how a young man (played by Charlie Sheen) and his own platoon (led and played by Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) are affected by it. Chris Taylor is based on Oliver himself, who was down there and fought and he if any other filmmaker should know about what happened down there while the ruling elite were rolling their thumbs.
The American Rambo-mythology is destroyed in a hell of napalms which are dropped by mistakes or even via order on their own, confusing battles where no one knows who is shooting at who or why, slaughter on innocents whose only guilt were being innocents, the fear of the unknown in an alien terrain, conflicts within the own lead, touchings of entire villages, rapes... well, the list can be infinite but most of what happened are included in this film with an intensive presence and thanks to Stone's directing feels like you are there fighting the war yourself. The final battle is one of the best and most realistic battles I've ever seen even though its nighttime it's probably the best, if not yet the most intensive night battles scenes ever filmed. When everything is over you realize that war is an incredibly destructive element which sadly the ruling elite and elected persons uses to serve his own interest wherever it's threat. This was a part of the American foreign policy, which tragically hasn't changed much.
The movie handles to be seen many times and might also be seen with and through critical eyes and I promise you the movie will grow, something 'anti-Stoners' totally have passed or even didn't care about and compares the movie with other movies and its sequences instead of letting it sink in as an experience. The acting has Oscar-quality, masterful and intimate photo, Samuel Barber's music adds a very special and depressing atmosphere and is almost describing, sound, screenplay and directing are near perfect. Without this film we wouldn't probably see some of todays antiwar movies. It is worth every prizes and should have won more. It's easy to understand why this movie is on the AFI's Top 100 Films List. It's not a film about the war, it's a film against the war.
In memoriam to those who fought in the Vietnam war and to the innocent people, mostly Vietnamese, who came in the line of fire. And not to forget; All respect to Oliver Stone.
10 stars out 10
"We're going to lose this war. I figure we've been kicking people's asses for so long, it's time we got ours kicked."