Possibly the greatest film of the generation.

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2005)

Apart from the fine actors and impassioned performances, this film seems to rise above other period (Viet Nam) films. It's not about "tough guys shoot 'em up" in some testosterone haze, but seemingly attempts to sincerely portray war as the senseless brutality it is. And is this really a "war film", per Se? Isn't it more a movie about friendship and the distances one must go to maintain connections with those one finds important? MICHAEL makes it painfully clear in the early scene when he tells NICK: (paraphrase) "If it weren't for you, I would go it alone." "ONE SHOT, ONE KILL" -- an extended metaphor? Whether in the mountains of PA, or the back alleys of Saigon (shooting deer, or shooting oneself), life is portrayed as tragically transient -- something to be protected and cherished, rather than squandered and taken for granted. Should Michael have done more to get Nick out? Should he have not tried at all? To what lengths will one go to protect what one holds dearest? When viewing this film, one might try and put oneself in Michael's position, and honestly assess how such fragility can be protected.