Platoon (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Platoon (Special Edition)
Movie Review: A Superb Masterpiece That Doesnt Loose Its Sting!
Summary: 5 Stars
Most of the older war films, like with John Wayne, loose their sting after a couple of decades. It doesnt seem the case with Platoon. The movie still makes you feel the effects of the Vietnam war as you cringe and end up with shell shock. Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July, JFK) takes what he seen in Vietnam and implies it into a two hour, gritty, guts and glory type film. Although sometimes you wonder if this or that really happened. The realism of the battle scenes and the effects it has upon the soldiers seems to be some of the best to date. This film easily surpasses Francis For Coppolas "Apocalypse Now" (which is still a more than superb feast of a Vienam war film). To say the least Defoe, Berenger and Sheen throw down their best performances of their careers. The additional cast is absolutely tremendous. They include Johnny Depp, Forrest Whittaker, John C. McGinley, Keith David, Kevin Dillion and even Oliver Stone. To see a more than realistic look in the war of Vietnam, check this out again and again. The story is about a new man in the squad Chris (Charlie Sheen), whose influences from the head Platoon leaders Alias (Willem Defoe) and Barnes (Tom Berenger) somewhat have an effect on how he goes about the war. Loosing his grip at some points in the film Chris is helped along by his two partying buddies Rahh (Francesco Quinn) and King (Keith David). Then the squads basically side with either Barnes or Alias you better believe anything and everything will happen. Chris: "here we are trying to fight the enemy, but instead we are fighting each other". Dont miss out on this exceptional work of art!Movie Review: THE War Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Unlike many war movies, "Platoon" forces the viewer to confront a harsh truth: war is NOT an ennobling experience, and it does not make you a better person. In fact, war is just as likely to bring out the worst in people as the best. I was a history major, and I still maintain an interest in the subject, and I find Oliver Stone's depiction of war to be far more realistic than that of, say, Steven Spielberg in "Saving Private Ryan." The soldiers in "Platoon" are just like people in real life: some good, some bad, some indifferent. For most of them, it's just about survival. The battle scenes aren't as graphically violent as in more recent movies, but they do a good job of capturing the fear and confusion that war can create. More importantly, the story is filled with sharply-drawn characters and moral ambiguity. "Platoon" centers around the conflict between two Sergeants, Tom Berenger's Barnes and Willem Dafoe's Elias. The battle-hardened Barnes believes in doing whatever is necessary to win the war, including killing noncombatants, while the mellower Elias resists Barnes's Machiavellian, win-at-all-costs approach. Their disputes, which end when Barnes kills Elias, raise some important questions: how civilized can combatants in a war be expected to behave? Where is the line drawn? Is it acceptable to do anything, no matter how inhumane, to accomplish military objectives? The movie doesn't really provide answers to these questions; I'm not even sure there are any right answers. However, "Platoon" deserves to commended for raising some tough issues.Movie Review: Excellent flick...(but remember- its a MOVIE !)
Summary: 5 Stars
For me, Platoon is one of the best war flicks ever - and certainly the best of the "'Nam" genre....It rates with Saving Private Ryan, Das Boat, etc...
Let's begin by admitting its a MOVIE...Not a documentary, not a true story, not a history - none of that. There's no way all the stuff in this movie happened to all units, or even to one particular unit.
The trick to understanding Platoon is to 1) realize that Vietnam is a war that will never have a good reputation (for all the obvious reasons) and therefore this film can't and doesn't have a 'victory'. The film is depressing in that sense, but it is at least true to that theme.
And 2) it helps to think of all the things that happen as a composite - Stone's rolling everything up into one unit in order to tell a story...
The acting is TERRIFIC. From Chris, to Barnes & Elias, to slacker Junior, to the Company Commander (played by David Dryer ?), it seemed every character "fit".
Uniforms were accurate, as were weapons. Jungle & bunker scenes were good (even though the night ambush had the ever-present Hollywood bluish background light, ah well...:)
The movie is overall somewhat cliche-ey about that era - everybody's a pot-head, we're all screwed over by "the Man", etc etc, blah blah blah...You have to look past that and try to feel the frustrations of a bunch of guys that didn't understand what this was about and why they were there.
Not a good time for America, and the movie captures that well.
Movie Review: Perhaps the greatest war epic...
Summary: 5 Stars
Oliver Stone's magnum opus should be required viewing for all political hawks and 18-24 year-old's. I'll reserve the balance of my time for a few remarks about the Special Edition DVD...If you love this film it's imperative that you get the "Special Edition"--it's well worth the few bucks extra. The hour-long Documentary "Tour of the Inferno" is truly spectacular and contains extensive interviews with Stone, Defoe, Berenger, Sheen, et al, describing the "method direction" Stone employed to create an atmosphere of reality unparalleled in other war films. By method direction, I'm referring to the boot camp experience Stone and Dale Dye employed to cultivate a sense of the psychosis felt by those who served in the Nam, and impart that sense to the actors who were to portray very tangible characters drawn from Stone's own Vietnam experience as an infantryman.
While listening to Stone's commentary I finally found the answer to a question about Platoon that had dogged me for years. In the scene after Barnes is killed, Chris is sitting down and is discovered by US soldiers followed by an American tank flying a Nazi swastika flag. I never understood this and scoured the Internet looking for an answer. In the commentary, Stone explains that the APC units were very extreme and used to adorn themselves with Nazi regalia[?].
Although some DVD's contain a lot of extras that simply aren't worth the effort, this is not the case with the Special Edition of Platoon. Outstanding!!!
5/5
Movie Review: What an incredible movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Oliver Slone's masterpiece! Platoon is by far the greatest war movie of all time. The story follows Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) who drops out of high school to volunteer to go to Vietnam. He soon realizes what a big mistake he has made. Chris is lead by two father figures. Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) is the much more caring and helpful figure. That along with his addiction to pot and other drugs, make him the more free spirited character of the film. Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) is the total opposite of Elias. He is cold and has no feelings what so ever. Like Elias, he too has an addication. Alcohol. He seems almost robotic-like. No feelings, who clearly has been taken up by the war and has fell into the dark side. Both in which meet an untimely and unexpected death. As Chris fights his battles and serves his country, he is constantly faced with the consequenses of his decisions. Some good, some not. He grows as a person from the naive, barely out of high school, teenager to a mature and understanding young man.
This brilliantly made film is the pit of Stone's acheivements. It won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year in 1987, as well as the Oscar for the Best Director. If you like movies such as Apocalypse Now, Born on the Fouth of July, The Deer Hunter, or even Forest Gump or Saving Private Ryan then I highly reccomend Platoon to you. It's an extrordanary film that definatly is the best depiction of war that I have ever seen. Also starring Johnny Depp.