Review of Born on the Fourth of July (1989) by Adam S — 09 Aug 2014

A chilling and emotionally harrowing look at the effects of the Vietnam War on the young men that were there, "Born on the Fourth of July" ranks as one of the very best films by Oliver Stone, and a Vietnam War classic.

The story is based on the life of Ron Kovic, a young athlete from small-time America who dreams of defending his country's liberty like his father and mentors did during World War II. At the emergence of the North Vietnamese communist regime, he immediately signs up to the Marines. In Vietnam, a number of horrors await Kovac, culminating in him being shot on the front lines, and emerging paralyzed. Returning home, he is at first mortified at the growing resistance to America's involvement in the war, but as he falls into emotional pitfalls and travels the country trying to find his own purpose, he becomes more sympathetic to the protests and grows to blame the US Government for his own predicament.

The cast includes the likes of Kyra Sedgwick, Stephen Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Vivica A. Fox and Wayne Knight, but the show belongs entirely to Tom Cruise, who was currently at the absolute peak of his cinema career, and owned this role.

It's a harrowing experience, and it will, at times, make you hate humanity and question your own values (no matter which side of the political coin you fall on). But it's also a very important film, and presented beautifully.

A quintessential war film.