Nicole Wurm

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2007)

#1 Russian Roulette is a game of chance. Anyone who plays is at risk. Being picked from a draft is also by chance. If you are drafted it is like being sent to your grave in Vietnam. However, if you choose to be patriotic and go to Vietnam you are compared to Nick, willingly risking his life, in a game of Russian Roulette. In this game of chance it does not matter how good or bad of a fighter you are, it is all statistics. Also, to play Russian Roulette you must have a large amount of mental strength which is also a problem with Nick. It shows Nick when he is under Vietnamize capture mentally breaking down. I believe the director means to show how mentally unprepared many of the soldiers that went to Vietnam were. Also, after the war when Nick was at a point where his life was of no meaning to himself, he would play Russian Roulette almost TO Die and not being forced to, because of the mental trauma he faced in the war itself. When he does die from the game the director shows that even if the war itself does not kill you, the effects of the war will, OR you mine as well be dead. I agree with the director that the soldiers were not mentally prepared for the war, and that who died in the war was more likely by chance than anything else. I am not sure how much i agree or disagree with how much the soldiers life meant after the war, i think that depends on how mentally strong a person was before the war. I can only imagine that far too many people were unable to move on with their lives after the war. As far as patriotism i don't think the director was against it or particularly for it, but simply acknowledged that those who went for those reasons were willingly putting their lives on the line and those people should be honored(song at end of movie). #4. Shawn Collin's Comment: There were several reasons that Mike went back to Vietnam to find Nick. The first, and most important thing was the unique relationship that they shared when they were in their hometown. Their relationship was different from the relationships that they had with their other friends, even Steven. Mike only trusted Nicky. Mike didn't trust steven nearly as much as he did Nicky because he thought Steven was a wimp. When they were in Vietnam it proved Stevens weak mind even when his life was at risk in the POW camp.In the Russian Roulette scene Nicky ran off and Mike could not find him. Later, Mike went back and felt guilty for leaving Nicky after he had promised not to go back without him.