Platoon

Rating:
Summary: Jack55
Review: I first saw Platoon in a theater in Waikiki as a member of the 25th ID, which is the same division depicted in the film. A big chunk of the audience also seemed to be from Schofield Barracks. They cheered wildly at some parts, like whenever a charcter refered to "grunts" or killing VC. We were all very young and had no way to know what Vietnam was really like. I enjoyed the move. It's entertaining and well acted, but is very much more of a work of fiction than I at first realised. I came to this opinion after reading the book "Platoon - Bravo Company" by Robert Hemphill. He was Oliver Stone's company commander in Vietnam. His book paints a much more honorable picture of the unit and is much closer to my peace-time impression of the US Army than Stone's criminal/irresponsible characters. Read Hemphill's book and skip this movie.

Rating:
Summary: The best war movie ever!
Review: Simply the best war movie ever, Platoon is the only real movie about the war in Vietnam. I know Apocalypse Now is a masterpiece and one of my favorites, but Platoon is more realistic, more convincing in that it shows what the average soldier, the average grunt felt like. Definently an anti-war film, I would recommend to young filmakers looking to make an anti-war film to watch and watch closely the village scene. It's one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history. Charlie Sheen is good as the main character, Willem Dafoe is even better as the kind-hearted Sgt. Elias, but to me, it is Tom Berenger who steals the show as the battle-hardened villian Sgt. Barnes. Berenger shows the madness and gives the best performance of the film. Oliver Stone, with his masterful direction, is truly one of the best directors ever. Four out of four stars, the best war movie ever made.

Rating:
Summary: A classic Vietnam movie
Review: Platoon remains the best movie ever made about the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. This movie shows it like it is with no apologies. It is not just a simple war movie with one side fighting the other, but instead warring factions between units. The story follows one platoon as they attempt to survive the war. The unit is divided in two groups and are led by two completely different men with completely different outlooks on life. Platoon is very effective in showing the horrors of war committed by both sides while also showing the terror and brutality of battle. This is not for the faint of heart but it is still an excellent movie.

The casting for Platoon could not have been any better than it is. Charlie Sheen plays Chris Taylor, the young private who volunteered for the army and the person who we see the movie through. Tom Berenger and Wilem Dafoe star as the opposing sergeants in the platoon. These two are the best performances in the whole movie. Dafoe's Sergeant Elias is a hippie soldier who cares for his men while Berenger's Sergeant Barnes is a die hard soldier who won't let anything stand in his way. The rest of the cast includes Keith David, Forest Whitaker, John C. McGinley, Dale Dye, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, Mark Moses, and Johnny Depp. Also the Adagio for Strings is the perfect music for this movie that helps to show the horror of the war and also the loss of innocence in the soldiers. The Special Edition DVD is very good with several commentaries, a documentary, theatrical trailers, a photo gallery and widescreen presentation included. This movie is well worth the price and should not be missed. One of the greatest war movies ever made, not just Vietnam!

Rating:
Summary: Very watchable.
Review: You've got to like this movie first of all, and it's generally a love it or hate kind of thing. It's an Oliver Stone tour de force that's packed with symbolism so obvious that it's like being beaten over the head.
Perhaps a little less melodrama and a little more left to the viewer's interpretation would be nice, but I'm not here to direct the film.
The DVD is very good and Samuel Barber's Adagio which recurs throughout the film is a haunting piece of music.
It's well-acted, particularly by Tom Berenger, whom the viewer comes to despise. It's also interesting to see a young Jonny Depp in a very small role. Plus, corey Glover, John C. McGinley, and others. This is arguably Charlie Sheen's best performance, but that may not be saying much.
The sound is great, especially if you've got a subwoofer and want to hack off your neighbors. Lots of good explosions. The only one I've heard with better war sound effects is Saving Private Ryan.

Rating:
Summary: The second or third, who knows, best movie ever!
Review: Alright, its catch phrase vociferates everything- the first casualty of war is innocence. Charlie Sheen was excellent as Taylor in this movie,but I think that Willem Dafoe really stole the show. Gosh, if you're looking for a tearjerker/gory mess full of raw human emotions, instincts and not just black and white but a whole lot of grey where one cannot tell what is REALLY the right thing to do (it's war, isn't it?) then watch and love this movie. I know I did.

Rating:
Summary: An Unpopular but Educational Look at Vietnam
Review: I thought this film was a very brutal, but honest look at combat at what happened in Vietnam. It isn't like many other films that involve a lot of politics and "are we here for the right reasons?" motives. This movie is about the soldiers and the environment many of them were forced to work in. A fabulous cast helps make a very good script a great movie.

I have talked to a number of people who were in Vietnam and a number of them say that this movie accurately reflects the emotions that many people were feeling during this war. The lost innocence that happens in a war environment, the brotherhood of many soldiers, and the squads within squads. I thought the power issues between the experienced Sgt and the non-experiences Lt was captured perfectly.

The brutal horros of war was not lost, and makes up such a large portion of this film. The buring of villages, the less than professional conduct of a few odd soldiers, the hatred between some people who were on the same side. Thsi film reveals the ugly side of war that many wish never existed. This film made it very clear that many of these guys did not want to be in Vietnam and weren't afraid to let that fact be known.

I never served in Vietnam so I don't know how real this film actually is but the movie was good.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: Platoon is an excellent movie, especially if you want to see more of what Vietnam was like and one that dosen't prey so heavily on the psychology of the grunts.
If you like those kind of movies, I reccomend Born on the fourth of July, another five star movie.

Rating:
Summary: "Everybody gotta die sometime, Red."
Review: A daring, emotionally charged, and powerful war movie that breaks down all the rules and boundaries, "Platoon" is a film like no other. The first time I watched this was a few years ago, and it must've been on a day where I wasn't really focusing on it. Well, I gave it another shot and it was like seeing it for the very first time. It was like I had never seen the movie before. "Platoon" is an emotional experience you don't want to miss out on.

Inspired by his involvement in the Vietnam War, writer and director Oliver Stone paints an honest and brutal movie about the terrible war. There are no lonesome heroes, there are no wham-bam shoot-em up scenes, and there is not a single moment in this film that makes you think of war as glamorous. The movie paints war as it is; absolute Hell. Tom Berenger, William Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, and many other famous names star in this fantastic and heart-breaking film, and give those like me who have never seen war a horrifying picture. I believe this was one of the first war movies that didn't just show you soldiers, but those soldiers actually are; human-beings.

Oliver Stone executes the movie with so much authenticity and care. If this movie were done by anybody else who had NOT been in the Vietnam War, this would be a completely different movie. I believe that he was very honest in his own portrayal of what he saw and experienced. He makes you see these soldiers not as soldiers, but as real human-beings. Human-beings who feel pain and can break down, as you see many of them do in the movie. I think he did a spectacular job of orchestrating it all.

The actors were great too. There were so many that I can't get into them all, but I will get to the major players. William Dafoe is brilliant in his role, as usual. Tom Berenger is mean as hell and as cold as they come. There is NO WAY anybody else could've played the part. And Charlie Sheen did a outstanding job as the naïve and emotionally-broken down soldier who you know is going to explode at any minute. Everybody was great in their roles, is what it all comes down to.

This DVD edition is pretty neat, although for a movie of this magnitude it would've been nice to have a 2-disk edition. Still, what you do get is nothing lacking. The picture and sound quality has been restored which is a big improvement over the very first version that came out. There are cool special features such as commentaries, an outstanding documentary, the theatrical trailer and TV spots, and a photo gallery. All of them really do enrich the movie and I'm glad they were included.

A while back I said that I thought "Black Hawk Down" was the best war movie I had ever seen. Mainly because there wasn't supposed to be a plot or character development, it just reported exactly what went down on that day. But now, I'm going to have to change my opinion on that. I now think that "Platoon" is by far the best war movie I have ever seen, and I have a feeling it will be the best war movie that I ever will see. It's going to be hard to top it, no doubt about it. If you haven't given this spectacular and honest film a chance, by all means go out to the nearest video store by you and pick up a copy. "Platoon" is one of those movies I think everyone should see at some point in their lives. It's an important, emotional, powerful, and gripping film. There's not too many like this, that's for sure.

Rating:
Summary: A Harrowing Portrayal of War
Review: I watched this film when it first came out on VHS back in the late '80s. The village scene horrified me so much that I still remember it today. It started out with a feisty grandmother, shouting at the soldiers in Vietnamese. The longer she shouted, the more agitated the soldiers became until one of the soldiers shoots her. I'll never forget the piteous crying of her little granddaughter and what followed.

The actors did an excellent job portraying what it was like to fight in a war they didn't understand. I experienced their terror, rage, and despair as they tried to fight their way out of the jungle. It was kill or be killed, and it didn't matter who held the gun.

Yes, this film still has an effect on me. It was all too real and all too plausible. I think everyone should watch Platoon, if they haven't already. Fifteen years ago, I thought the members of that platoon were evil and dispicable. Today, I know (indirectly) what these men were faced with--an alien culture that wanted them dead and a government that wouldn't allow them to fight back unless instructed.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: War sure is ugly for this Vietnam platoon.
Review: This 1986 Academy Award winning film is based on writer/director Oliver Stone's experiences in Vietnam. It's raw and gritty. And it doesn't preach. It just shows in living color what war was like for a specific platoon. Basically, it was about trying to survive and just get through it all.

Charlie Sheen stars as the raw recruit. At first we see him as the young boy who wrote daily to his grandmother about the bugs and the blisters and the constant fatigue. Later, we see join the camaraderie of the platoon. And still later, we watch him make some hard choices of his own. Tom Berenger is cast as the scar-faced sergeant with the kind of cruel streak that doesn't stop at murder. And Willem Dafoe is cast as an equally experienced soldier who deplores the cruelty and is willing to stand up for his views.

The film focuses only on the experience in the jungle. There are no flashbacks to childhood or stateside relations. There is no mention of the anti-war movement or the plans of the generals. It is all about just humping through the jungle, in constant fear for their lives and lots of macho swaggering to keep up their courage. There are constant ambushes, horrible injuries, lots of death. But the most awful scene of all is when the platoon, overtired and angry because of recent horrific casualties, goes into a village. Here, all the pent up emotion is unleashed on the innocent villagers. This is the moral center of the film, where there are choices between right and wrong. Here is the part of the film where I burst into tears myself. War sure is ugly.

This is a great film and it makes most the other war films I've seen pale by comparison. I give it my highest recommendation.

The film brought me right into reality of what its like for the soldiers fearing for their lives and the civilians who happen to get in their way. I have no illusions. Such it is. Such it has always been. And such it will always be.