It's September 1967, and Chris (Charlie Sheen) has just arrived in Vietnam. He is sheltered and his father and grandfather fought in the military. As the new guy, nobody cares to be his friend. Lt. Wolfe (Mark Moses) is a weak ineffective leader. His men are divided in two. Some are followers of the cruel Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger). Others are followers of the humane Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe). In the end, Barnes and Elias are in a struggle for Chris' soul.

This is the quintessential Vietnam war movie. Oliver Stone has recreated the jungle combat and placed a morality tale in the middle of it. It is possibly Charlie Sheen's greatest performance. His innocence at the beginning evolves into a grizzled veteran fighter. The combat is so realistic, and the story is so compelling. It is a must see for all movie goers.

This is a very, very hard film for me to review. I was too young to be in Vietnam (thank God) and I have no idea what the real Vietnam War was like. Was it like John Wayne's THE GREEN BERETS? I am sure it was not! But, was it like PLATOON? I just don't know. Did the soldiers in the war do drugs, kill civilians and run amok? Yes, but whether or not it was the norm (like it was shown in this film),I just can't say. Some Vietnam vets I've spoken with say this film is accurate, others say it over-emphasizes isolated incidents because it has an agenda. I just don't know, especially since director Oliver Stone does have problems, at least in some films, with fictionalizing events (such as in JFK and Alexander). Regardless, it is a very powerful film.

Unlike FULL METAL JACKET, this Vietnam War film begins in Vietnam. The film opens with Barber's "Adagio for Strings" providing an appropriately somber and dirge-like musical introduction--newbie Charlie Sheen arrives as body bags are being loaded into a plane. This is the perfect music for the intro, though I must admit that later in the film it is overused just a bit--losing some of its impact.

The film revolves around young Sheen and the men serving with him--soldiers on the front lines and in the middle of the action. Over time, the whole reason for them being their and their humanity all comes into question. This struggle is epitomized in the two sergeants. One, Tom Berenger, is a bit nuts. He's willing to break the rules, kill civilians and become an animal. The other, Willem Defoe, is an equally skilled soldier but cannot allow himself to give in to his darker side. This all comes to a head when Berenger and several others viciously kill several villagers--villagers who could easily have been completely innocent and certainly did not deserve this. When Defoe swears to file a report about this, you know that eventually there will be a serious confrontation between these two men. However, it's Sheen who eventually finds himself in the middle--and you are pretty sure that it will be him or Berenger that must die. Yet, there is STILL almost an hour left in the film! The final hour is one of the most harrowing in film history. It consists of one hellacious firefight after another--culminating in a battle along the Cambodian border that ultimately kills off most of the men in the platoon--and further dehumanizes the survivors. For sheer violence and terror, I can't think of another war film that can even come close. It's practically non-stop and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

So what did I think about the film? Well, watching it was certainly among the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had! The extreme violence, the pointlessness, the horrible language and the drugs were all pretty awful and didn't make this a film for little kids, that's for sure! But, you certainly must admire it for the intensity and realism you lack in many films--traditional war films that make war seem fun or manly. You certainly can't watch this film enjoy it--and that really is a good thing when you think about it.

So, for a film that shows war in all its awfulness, you can't find one quite like PLATOON. Once again, I can't attest to the voracity of the portrait of the war, but for a vision of what war can be like, it can't fail to have a huge emotional impact. My only quibble, and it is minor, is that Charlie Sheen seemed a tad young in his role--so much so that I had a hard time accepting him as a soldier among all these men.

The only military conflict that was in the American experience similar to Vietnam was the Phillipine Insurrection. I doubt that any of the characters whom Oliver Stone created for Platoon would even have known we were in a five year war in the Phillipines battling elements wanting independence after the Spanish-American War made the territory our's.

This was a war without uniforms or battle lines. No one knew who was friend or foe. That bred callousness of an extreme kind into our troops. They learned to shoot first then fake a story for the official report. This is what we see in Platoon.

Charlie Sheen is a newly arrived private in Vietnam and through him Oliver Stone the director/writer of Platoon tells the story of his war. He gets caught in a power struggle between Sergeants Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger who are presented as good versus evil. Dafoe is a professional soldier who has managed to keep some semblance of humanity. Berenger has totally lost it. A Yin and Yang of personal valor.

Other films like Casualties Of War and Apocalypse Now have given their Vietnam stories. I like Casualties Of War as a favorite Vietnam film of mine, but Platoon certainly has its merits. I think an awful lot who were there will say Platoon is the real deal.

Some familiar people are scattered through the supporting cast. One that stands out is Matt's younger brother Kevin who plays a kind of Berenger in training. I doubt this kid from small town USA ever imagined himself doing the brutal things he does. He learned his lessons from Vietnam well and Berenger was a good teacher.

Platoon got several Oscar nominations. Not my favorite Vietnam war film, but a very good one.