Review of Platoon (1986) by Alvin Y — 20 Aug 2011

Platoon, Great Movies.

"I do not believe that the men who served in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they deserve. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy".

-William Westmoreland.

That quote really tells us a lot of things about men fighting for the war as an example in Vietnam. That quote also relates to the theme of this movie "Platoon", and you can see why, just think about it's deep meaning. I'm gonna talk about first the quote I just gave. The person who said that quote believes all men are not worthy to be rewarded or given credit for serving in the military, and he also said, it is a tough and very hard war to fought some enemies. That's basically true, and now, we're getting the right point of this film, not by that quote, but also by saying, this is one of the best realistic war movies I've ever seen, and one of the best films of the 1980's. Winning the Best picture and directing in 1986, it really proves that there is no other war film in the 80's that tells a meaningful essence of war. Well, you have some films like "Apocalypse Now", "Deer Hunter", "Full Metal Jacket", "Born on the 4th of July", but I gotta say, this movie is an exception, it could have been the first Vietnam war film to be released because of the essence and nature of the Vietnam War. We and also the soldiers in this movie goes on an adventure that we or them might never forget at all. Oliver Stone, the director, I think he served once on the military going on the Vietnam war, that's why he knows the horror and violence of it, think about it. His direction is exceptional, he makes this film not kind of a bang bang shoot out picture, he instead makes it on more why do we kill these Vietnamese soldiers or other American troops as well. I'm also glad that the camera movement is steady even though we see a lot of gunshots and explosions. And also look at the Charlie Sheen character, you can say that he is the narrator of the film, and yes, you can say that Stone is putting his experiences and stories into Sheen's character as a memoir style.

I know I have a lot to say in "Platoon" but to end this, I can say, one of the best and truly magnificent war movie ever, think twice, and you'll see why this movie is truly a great movie!