No Saving Private Ryan

Rating: 5/10 (23 June 2002)

Disillusionment: it can represent an end; herald a beginning; and sometimes, it can do both to some degree. Are we more than pawns in the battlefield of life, destined to accept what is generally acknowledged as reality? In Platoon, writer/director Oliver Stone attempts to tackle this issue with varying degrees of success. The film follows the exploits of an American military unit during the Vietnam War. The group is ultimately divided by two feuding authority figures, Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). Caught in the middle is Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), who is forced to decide where his loyalty lies. On one hand is Barnes, a driven patriot who is will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. On the other hand is Elias, a man who no longer believes in the war but has not lost his compassionate outlook. Elias has already realized that the whole war is a lie, and through the film Taylor arrives at the same realization.
Charlie Sheen gives an excellent portrayal of Taylor, a character loosely based on Stone. Taylor is an upper class young man who could have easily avoided the war but chose to volunteer. He wanted to be a hero: following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who fought in World War I, and his father, a World War II soldier. Instead, he is trapped in a world where it is impossible to be a hero - where it is difficult to determine who the enemy is. Stone explores how American soldiers were destined for hardships before even setting foot on the Vietnam battlefield. For example, Taylor lacked sufficient training; he did not know what equipment was necessary to take on patrols. After Taylor passes out from overloading his pack, Elias removes all the unnecessary items.
Another issue Stone delineates is how the rampant use of narcotics plagued many men in Vietnam. Elias, one of the more respected soldiers, used drugs liberally. When Taylor is just beginning to use drugs, there is a segment in which Elias blows smoke through a rifle barrel into Taylor's mouth. When the most influential men in the war not only advocate but partake in such behavior, what are the impressionable young men supposed to think? While Barnes does not do drugs, he is an alcoholic. Therefore, no matter who a soldier sides with, he is still exposed to the use of deleterious substances.
Platoon portrays the disappointment of America during the Vietnam War; its broken heart. In his journey, Taylor's lose of innocence represents more than just one man. He symbolizes every soldier that enters the war with a patriotic soul and leaves with a tarnished one. His illusions are destroyed, his youthful optimism eradicated. Specifically Sheen and Dafoe complement this film with moving performances. On the other hand the writing was adequate, and the directing. lacking. Stone's direction of the battle scenes was jumbled and confusing, leaving one squinting to determine what is going on.
5 out of 10 stars