This film s*cked bigtime

Rating: 1/10 (15 November 2002)

I just cannot believe this. A l-o-t of people have left their postings on this board, and actually liked this movie. It's truly amazing.
First of all, I'm not a supporter of the US involvement in Vietnam, as it was totally uncalled for. And secondly, American soldiers have never been and will never be, the best soldiers in the world. Maybe one of the absolutely best equipped soldiery of the world, but again - not the best when it comes to fighting. And definitely not within the jungle landscape of the Vietcong homeland. And that's what annoys me so much about this film. Compare this disgrace of a movie with for example Full Metal Jacket by Kubrick, and you get a comparison like that of stale old moldy bread with a box of delicious chocolate.
Hundreds of times in this film, you see the native forces of Vietnam getting bested by their american counterparts. And these are the same Vietnam people who; 1. know they're home ground like the back of their hands,
2. is often entrenched and well prepared beforehand, way ahead of any US
'fresh-out-of-college-students-whooshed-over-the-ocean-and-dropped-smack-da b-in-the-middle-of-enemy-territory' personnel, 3. don't walk around in the jungle, smoking cigs, chewing gum, having strong-smelling cologne on, using narcotics, talking loudly, having a portable radio turned on (not the troop-radio), and generally having a lot more clues as to what they're doing there than the US soldiers.
And in spite of all this, the US grunts mysteriously gain the upper hand, even in hand-to-hand combat. It is as likely as if the Vietnamese would invade South Carolina and suddenly be the experts on everything essential in the area. The ONLY reason the US ever got the upper hand historically, in my opinion, is that they had superior aerial forces and could bombard strategic locations with things like napalm and agent orange.
And the so called "acting" in this movie suck so much that it generates a backdraft. 'Stoneface Gibson' is more concerned these days that his looks and personal aura gets thru, than actually doing any real acting and is a real bore to watch. This personal cult-building around his persona began in the end of Braveheart and have just gotten worse by every movie since.
Just don't watch this dung, especially if you rate films like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan high on your personal list.
Dracopticon out.