One of my biggest complaints about Francis Ford Coppola's classic Apocalypse Now was that it seemed to take advantage of the people and culture of Vietnam all for the sake of showing how horrible that war actually was. This comes off as darkly ironic to me and even though the movie still brings awareness to the gruesome tragedies of that time, Platoon is really just a case of "Coppola walked so Oliver Stone could run". Platoon is a fantastic war film showcasing not just how horrible our country acted during the war but also a mighty slew of young talent that would grow up to become household names, for better or worse. This movie does everything that Coppola's wanted to and thankfully without the excessive violence and lack of character development that was visible in his vision of this story. Despite the subject matter not aging well in regards to its relevance, I loved this movie and how it portrayed the absolute horrors of the United States' time in Vietnam.
Platoon follows a young soldier named Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) as he begins his yearlong shipment out to fight in Vietnam during the '70s. Even though he was not chosen by the draft, Taylor volunteers to fight for his country but soon discovers the hellish landscape that the war has created in the fight against both the enemies and his fellow soldiers. There are a countless number of comparisons between this film and Coppola's, but I feel like that is the best way to get my point across about why I enjoyed this so much more. What I truly appreciated about this film much more than any aspect of Apocalypse Now was the idea that every decision made by U.S. soldiers and every life they chose to take was up to their own free will. No one was necessarily making them pull the triggers and kill innocent Vietnamese villagers, but the soldiers decided to do that purely based on their pent-up rage about the situation that they were put in. I feel as if deep down, the hatred radiating from many of this film's characters was simply due to their basic desire for safety and wanting to go home. This was such an engaging theme for this film to tackle, and it made way for a lot of riveting character development, especially in how Taylor's humanitarian views contrasted that of the other soldiers. Taylor was the most captivating character to watch during this entire film because of these actual traits that Stone's script gave to him. I adored the framing narrative of Taylor's narration and the letters to his grandmother. Not only did it give the film and its characters a more human feel, but it also had a much more pleasing direction for the audience to follow along with, which is arguably better than Coppola's extravagant, Hollywood Renaissance tone.
Apocalypse Now seemed to show that war against the Vietnamese people was inevitable, which it really was not. The sense of nationalism that audiences get from watching fighter jets mindlessly obliterate villages while "Flight of the Valkyries" blares is nothing short of a cinematic spectacle, but does absolutely nothing when it comes to being unbiased about what happened in the years the USA was in Vietnam. This movie tells the story of what went down in Vietnam in a much more multi-dimensional way than any other film. The honesty that comes out of Platoon is what makes it feel much more authentic, as the characters in this film were not there to purely destroy anything in their path but rather because they were forced. I loved the scenes with the soldiers bonding over getting high and talking smack to each other, because it naturally felt like what soldiers would actually be doing. A leading theme in regards to the film's black characters, including King (Keith David), Harold (Forest Whitaker), and Junior (Reggie Johnson), is that they all vehemently opposed the war, but had no choice because of the country they lived in. Their audible careless attitudes made for such an interesting dynamic between all of these characters and definitely showed that people of different backgrounds and nationalities will always have different opinions when it comes to going to war with foreign countries. All of these themes and ideas that Stone's script introduced were played out excellently by the cast. Charlie Sheen, Willen Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Francesco Quinn, and others were fantastic choices for their roles. They all balanced perfectly on the line of upcoming stardom with lesser-known potential, bringing fantastic life to their characters.
Platoon is an extraordinary feat in storytelling as Oliver Stone's direction makes this film a highly memorable and touching experience. Despite being released more than a decade after the war's end, this film cements itself as the most honest and progressive look at how our country, unfortunately, handled themselves in the 1970s. Boasting a then unknown cast of talent, this movie has truly become a war classic and an important part of film history.
My Rating: ★★★★
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