Character "Flaws"

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2010)

Nick, Steve, and Mike are three very different characters. In the beginning, they are all happy friends with distinct traits. Nick is the outgoing, friendly, charismatic person. Steve is a shyer, but friendly, person who likes to act tough. Mike is the stern, kept to himself, "hard guy" (but obviously still a good guy). I think of it as Mike and Nick being two ends of a scale and Steve then being right in the middle. As they go to Vietnam, their true personalities shine through. Though, it seems, that Mike and Steve become the two ends of the scale and Nick migrates toward the middle. Steve does not fair very well in Vietnam, he is very scared of death and is very weak, mentally and physically. Mike remains the tough guy, fearless, but still good willed. He talks Mike and Steve through Russian Roulette and ultimately saves Steve from imminent death. Nick becomes the middle man. He is frightened by war and its miseries, but he tries to remain strong. Nick, though, gets sucked into a worthless living because he chooses to stay in Vietnam and play Russian Roulette for money. Despite Mike's efforts to persuade Nick, Nick has already been too traumatized by war to go back to living a normal life. When Nick finally shoots himself in a game of Russian Roulette after Mike challenges him because he fails to bring him home (as he promised earlier in the film), it is basically putting Nick out of his misery. There was no other option for Nick at this point in the film. Steve, after being seriously wounded in numerous ways, was able to gather his wits enough to lead a livable life. Although plagued by the loss of his two legs, he is still mobile with the aid of a wheel chair and can still live life. Mike was unsung hero of the film. He saved the three of them from a torture camp in Vietnam, then went on to save Steve a second time from being left in the jungle to die, and finally travels back to Vietnam to attempt to rescue his friend, Nick, who has fallen into a mental abyss and is trapped in himself and Vietnam. Though Mike fails to help Nick physically, he ultimately did the right thing in not letting him live the life he was living for any longer. Mike becomes the person who keeps all of his friends together and does not let any one person go unnoticed. The three characters are very different from one another, like most friends are. But they stick together through everything (or at least try to). They all grow in different ways after being in Vietnam because their personalities are so different. Nick, submits himself to death because he cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Steve, is lucky enough to have friends who care about him and won't let him rot in a jungle alone. Mike is the tough "hero" who doesn't like to share his emotions, but will have his friends back no matter what.
-Nate Faulkner Block 1