Good Movie, But Perhaps Overrated?

Rating: Null/10 (17 January 2002)

I took a long time to rent this movie; and I had always heard it was a classic. The first I knew about it was the beautiful music, theme by Stanley Myers (I had the guitar sheet music). So I was expecting a classic film.
Well it is a good film but I thought there were a lot of holes in it. The "Russian roulette" theme gets pretty old (from POW jungle horror to Saigon gambling room) and unbelievable. Stephen breaks his leg falling from a helicopter; and when you see him back in the USA he's a double amputee refusing to leave the VA hospital? Nick becomes a brainwashed Russian roulette player/gambler exactly how? And he inexplicably survives this dangerous career for years until Michael finally gets there as the US is leaving Saigon in '75?
Considering the pains the director took to show us the background of this Russian-American steeltown PA community I kind of thought it was odd to leave out so much. And the relationship between Meryl Streep/DeNiro/Walken was so facile that the love triangle in "Pearl Harbor" seemed more plausible.
I don't mean to be too critical, it was good entertainment (I give it 8 of 10). But there are better films about Vietnam, such as Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."