Oliver Stone's Best Film and the Greatest War Film Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2008)

This was one of Oliver Stone's first films, and his best. No other film he has made has had the impact on me that Platoon had. No other war film has given me as hard of a punch as Platoon. Some may be thinking of Ryan but Platoon had a more lasting impact on me. It is a truly amazing film. Very well written, feeling very real, and some of the best acting and casting I've seen in a movie. This is probably my 2nd favorite film from the 80s after Raging Bull.
Story: A story from probably the ugliest war that America has ever fought, the Vietnam War, is told in this film. Oliver Stone who was a veteran of Vietnam weaves an amazing work of art out of this messy war. The writing and the actors are so good and work so well together, you can feel the pain that many of the characters are feeling. You can feel the friendships between some of the men and hatred between some others as Vietnam left more than physical marks. While very violent, it's the psychological and emotional scars of war that are shown here. Two sergeants, one a compassionate disillusioned Elias who helps rookies grow accustomed to the war, and sergeant Barnes who ruthless and would kill a child to find information. They butt heads morally throughout the film and the war has given Barnes both physical scars and psychological scars. Watch this movie and you will love this story.
Acting: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Charlie Sheen give the performances of their careers with these films. Charlie Sheen makes a very sympathetic narrator who tells the story through letters to his grandmother and is basically in the center of the conflict between the two sergeants. Dafoe creates a sergeant who you would love to be friends with as he cares about everyone. He basically represents Christ throughout the film. Berenger creates probably the second (second to Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now) scariest military man I've ever seen in a war film. He is so effective that despite having some sympathy for how the war has twisted someone who may have once been a good man, you still have resentment and horror at some of his actions. All of the actors fulfill their part as well. Some are compassionate and some are as ruthless as Barnes. This was definitely one of the best casts I've seen in a war film.
Visual/Audio: The jungles they used for this movie really gives the feel that they are in Vietnam. They create confusion in order to enhance that feel. The music heard at times also makes you feel like it's the 60s. The battles are set up very well to show the carnage but also to make you sort of confused to give you that feeling that many soldiers had. The jungles are both frightening and beautiful to look at.
Overall this is in my opinion the greatest war film ever made. Or anti-war film. Stone tries to paint the war very negatively and tries to show how horrible its effects on people were physical or psychological. SEE THIS MOVIE! 10/10