Brutal but honest.....

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2016)

Of all the war movies I've seen, this is probably one of the most honest and non-romantic depictions of the 20th centuries longest war I've seen. Its a hard movie to watch but its meant to be as it shows the war for the hell it really was, its authenticity cannot be praised enough thanks to Oliver Stone's personal experiences that he went through when serving in the war. The actors put themselves through a tough boot-camp in order for an accurate portrayal and it showed, they didn't have to act exhausted and weary as they genuinely were. Charlie Sheen's depiction as the naive bright eyed college kid who joined up for romantic reasons, but quickly learns the harsh realities of the war is one of the more memorable. likewise Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe as two battle hardened but morally very different veterans are also very memorable. The fighting and battle scenes again are unforgettable and accurate and the show just what the American solders were up against and how slippery and how hard the NVA and the VC could be to pin down. One aspect of the movie which I found refreshing was it didn't attempt to picture the Americans as angels, it showed that they could be no better or sometimes worse than the enemy they were fighting. Now in comparison with Full Metal Jacket, this movie is no better or worse, as it depicts a different aspect of the war than this movie, this movie depicts the type of fighting the soldiers had to do before the Tet Offensive, jungle warfare, where-as Full Metal Jacket depicted urban warfare in the Tet Offensive. So if you want an non-sugar coated, accurate and authentic portrayal of the Vietnam war, then this movie is for you.