Review of Platoon (1986) by André S — 14 Feb 2011

Platoon might not be the definitive war movie, but it's pretty close in terms of capturing what it means to be a soldier and fight in a war without a purpose. I think that Oliver Stone really wanted to get the point across that no one wins in The Nam, even the victors come off scarred.

The story is simple in many ways, but extremely captivating. The depiction of the jungles in Vietnam are shot to perfection and the score works like an operatic sync. The performances are all pretty flawless, with the obvious standouts being Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger and Forest Whitaker.

However, it's really Charlie Sheen that carries the film and makes the biggest impression overall. He goes from being a naive volunteer to a tortured soul torn between justice and what is easy. I think it really takes a few viewings to really appreciate the genius behind the film and not classify it as an average action/war movie.