Review of Platoon (1986) by Andrew P — 02 Dec 2011

A masterpiece and one of the best stories every told about the war in Vietnam. "Platoon" established Stone as famous filmmaker during the mid 1980's and would continue his reign to the mid 1990's. Stone based his own life experience in this film and it's told through the eyes of a young infantry man named Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen).

While I was watching "Platoon" I got a real sense of hardwork and surviving one's own in skin in the fields of war. The enemy known as the Vietcong is never seen and smartly so, gunfire and ambush can approach at any minute, the jungle with the deep lush greens and fog make the Americans field of vision threatning. I also noticed one of the most saddest scenes which is inspired by the My Lai massacre. Americans fighting against each other due to fear and a lack of what's going on? rapings, burning of the villages, burning of the rice fields. It is why I feel Stone had to tell this story to show that Americans entered into a territory, acted like barbarians and ultimately suffered. It was a war the Americans could not win nor should they have been involved with in the first place.

"Platoon" is easily one of Stone's best films and one of his most poignant and deepest pictures he has ever made. He would continue to write and direct more pictures that dealt with themes of contemporary political and cultural issues. I'm very glad a man named Oliver Stone is directing pictures that makes people like me see the subject from another point of view and never being afraid of finding and seeking out the truth. This is what i'll remember him as and will always be my fav filmmaker.