Review of Platoon (1986) by Bradley W — 11 Jun 2012

Platoon is based off Oliver Stone's experiences during the Vietnam War, and he represents the character of Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen. Simply put, this is one of the greatest war movies of all time and an incredible character study for showing war at its most gruesome and painful state.

We are Christ Taylor, unknowing to what war is truly like and he is like some who think leaving school and joining the army is the best choice, but in its own way this is an anti-war film that shows how Chris wants to go home.

The plot gives us these characters who are all conflicted with their own ideas and lives, but as the movie goes on tension rises and we see these characters true personalities unfold and it was an incredible experience.

Stone is trying to get across how oblivious we are to the true nature of war, and so many other war films are filled with actual killing that they stray from the message, but not Platoon. The cast deserved high recognition for their performances espically from Charlie Sheen who got his big break from this 1986 Best Picture winner.

Charlie Sheen will always be a comedian in my eyes, but in his performance in this classic war film his performance showed true fear and when I see him I see Oliver Stone, and I think Sheen knows that and plays his character with truth and is our example of what war can do to someone as young and naive as him.

Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger represent good and evil, heaven and hell, mercy and cruelty and they show Sgt. Barnes shows how war can corrupt the human mind and make us turn not only on others, but to ourselfs.

The war scenes were incredibly well done and realistic, especially when it had Chris because we are seeing what it would be like to have no experience in war and to be pressured into killing and watching the death of friends all around you.

Directors like Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Terrence Malick, and Francis Ford Coppola have all showed the world different visions of war and given us a true feel to not the war, but the soldier himself and I can say Oliver Stone as not only done that but done it better than most directors ever could with his character of Christ Taylor.

Platoon is a brutally realistic masterpiece that has stood the test of time for over 20 years and will keep doing so for however time will let it.