response to craven

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2008)

1. The Russian Roulette sequences illustrate the brutal nature of war. Roulette is all about luck, and the filmmakers replace combat with these sequences to say that survival on the battlefield, too, is all about luck. This assertion intentionally contradicts the common perception of survival in war as determined partly by luck but mostly through training, discipline, strategy, and courage. While bravery certainly helps Nick and Mike find the courage to play Roulette as part of their escape plan, the director implies that this is easily replaced by recklessness; Nicky is later able to continue playing Roulette over and over in Vietnam because he simply does not care whether he lives or dies. I agree with the director because, while character and preparation certainly would help any solider, modern weaponry  bombs, bullets, mines  is so powerful and long-ranging that no amount of training can safeguard anyone in a battle zone from a sudden death.
2.Steve, Mike, and Nick's personalities determine their fates. Steve was so mentally unfit for war that he would probably have come unglued when faced with any battle scene. He can not bear to take even one turn in Roulette (symbolic of one battle) and does not have to shoot anyone to escape, yet he is still much more deeply disturbed by his experiences as a prisoner of war than either Mike or Nick. He fails to climb into the helicopter when he needs to and soon after develops Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Nick, who is also portrayed as a dreamer and an innocent, deals with the stresses of war better than Steve (he is able to play Roulette and help kill the Viet Cong that have imprisoned him) initially, but his fall was even more severe than his friend's. While Steve at the end of the film is physically ruined and still mentally scarred from the war, he seems to be recovering somewhat as he is able to return home for Nick's funeral. Nick's mind at the end of the film has been consumed by the trauma of the war and the opiates he abuses. Mike's tough, steadfast nature makes him a model soldier in the heat of the moment and allows him to cope with his post-war aftershock very well.
Steve was bound to develop PTSD no matter where and when he was faced with the terrible realities of the war, and Mike's character would have led him to fight valiantly no matter the circumstances. While Nick may have avoided so swift a death had Mike caught him before he rode off with the French man, going home would not have cured Nick, and, eventually, his will to live would probably have vanished anyway.
3. His character is supposed to represent a critical view of French policy towards America and Vietnam. Just as France persuaded America to invade a trap in Vietnam, he persuades Nick to join in morbid Roulette games and allows him to keep playing the horrible game as he becomes addicted to drugs and thus dependent on Roulette. When the situation in Vietnam deteriorates, he continues to ignore Nick's well-being, plotting an escape and even turning on the U.S. (through his attempt to refuse to help Michael).
4. Mike returns to rescue Nick because he knows that the money Nick is making indicates that he is involved in something illegal (as even mentally disturbed Steve deduces). What little else is know about him  his AWOL status, lack of correspondence with Linda, and apparent relationship with the French man  amplifies Michael's concern that Nick is still in Vietnam and in serious danger. Mike wants to bring Nick back home because he promised Nick he would, but also because Mike needs the comfort of Nick's company as he is the only one who can understand what Michael has been through. Mike's other friends don't understand; Stan and Axel play around with a gun as if it is harmless. Mike returns to Vietnam hoping to reclaim the Nick of old, but the drug-addled ghost he finds in the Roulette room contains no trace of his friend.