The Best Vietnam War Film Ever Made

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2017)

Oliver Stone brought his first-hand experience as a Vietnam veteran behind the camera in what is arguably his magnum opus. Crafting a gripping and haunting film that brought out the nightmares of the horrors of war, Stone rightfully won his first Oscar for Best Director as well as Best Picture.
Telling the tale of a ragtag platoon of soldiers from the perspective of newbie infantryman Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) about the atrocities of the war and how it affects each of the core players; the film's major players are all based upon people known by Oliver Stone during his service.
The pivotal role of Chris Taylor was based on the director himself; a college drop-out eager to serve his country, but soon realizing how horrifying war really is and thus must become a stronger man and no longer a frightened boy among men. Charlie Sheen is perfectly cast as Taylor and is able to be sympathetic despite his naivety. The character of Chris Taylor is silent for the majority of the film except for his voice-overs and rare exchanges with his comrades. Sheen boldly develops his character deftly from the fresh-faced novice frightened by what he sees, moments perfectly captured in the night watch scene and the village raid, to a hardened young man who is no longer afraid to act in a brutal fashion as evidenced in Taylor's final encounter with Tom Berenger's brutal Sergeant Barnes at the end of the film.
Providing the film's greatest internal conflict is the constant power struggle within the unit between Tom Berenger's arrogant and brutal Barnes (Berenger scored a nomination for Best Actor) and Willem Dafoe's peaceful, tactful Sergeant Elias (Dafoe was nominated for Best Supporting Actor). The differences between the men show the display of how war affects the once able-bodied souls who go to serve; Barnes representing a hardened, violent and quick-to-act soldier unafraid to turn on his own, particularly in the horrible moment where he ambushes Elias, while Elias represents the passive face of what is to come with war, but this does not mean the sergeant won't strive to serve and protect his unit.
Caught in the middle of the sergeants' warring spar is Sheen's Taylor. As Taylor states at the film's end, "Still fighting for what Rhah called 'the possession of my soul'", this thought echoes Chris's own turmoil for how he must choose to act: forceful and cruel like Barnes or with discipline and heart like Elias. As the film's events steer to the dark actions the group takes, the rage boils deeper within Barnes and Elias until it reaches a fever pitch and the two men fist-fight which eventually leads to Elias's iconic death scene. The outcome can only turn out one way by the time Elias is heartbreakingly slain before the platoon's and viewer's eyes: someone must pay.
This isn't the easiest film to watch, but the topic of the war in Vietnam is important and not forgotten. Keep tissues nearby and prepare to be enraptured with this magnetic gem.