Review of Platoon (1986) by Field M — 11 Mar 2013

Platoon boasts a solid opening that immerses the viewer into a harsh world set during the Vietnam War. However, the perfection in creating conflict and establishing emotional connection to the main characters ultimately falls flat as the film reaches its climax. In the latter half of the film, too much time is spent away from the central conflict for the sake of showing bullets fly past and into characters who have not been on screen for more than two minutes. There are elements of showing how members of a platoon bonded, there are elements of showing the corruption of man during warfare, and there are elements of showing the brutality of bloody battles. How I wish that Platoon had chosen one of these as its primary focus.

Charlie Sheen as the protagonist, while not so awful to be distracting, is one of the poorest casting decisions that I have seen in the while. There are some brilliant technical moments and quotable dialogue that redeem the film but it is not something I would want to see again.