Welcome to Nam! (Platoon (DVD))

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	Platoon (DVD)
Date:	12/10/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent storyand acting, emotional and gripping

Disadvantages: Some hard viewing and horrific injuries

Whenever this had been on TV and hubby said he wanted to watch it I said no as it really didn't appeal tome but after seeing a trailer for it on a recent DVD which we watched I thought that it did actually look quite good. I managed to find this DVD in Tesco on my last visit so I picked it up for him.

The film is about Chris who volunteered for the US Army and ended up serving in Vietnam. He is a new recruit when he arrives there and some of the men don't like him. He is finding it hard as he is given the toughest and dirtiest jobs to do but he manages to get them done and soon earns the respect of the men. Chris soon fits in with the men and gets invited to join them for their evening rests, drinking bear and smoking dope.

Another battle which Chris is finding is with the two company Sergeants who do not see eye to eye and Chris finds this is a battle which he cannot cope with onto of seeing his friends getting killed by the Vietnamese soldiers.

Just how will Chris adjust to life at war and will he ever see and end to the war between his two Sergeants?

I found that this film was indeed nothing like I had expected it to be. There was a story to it and not just men being blown up. I found the story which followed Chris to be very emotional at times and I think Charlie Sheen did a great job portraying this character. I liked the naivety which he had at the beginning of the film being unaware of the horrors which faced him and I enjoyed seeing his character grow and toughen up as the film went on. He was a likable character and I enjoyed seeing him trying to do the decent thing for people during the war and not just being completely brutal and uncaring.

The two Sergeants did give the story some depth and I think it was a different aspect to the war which is never really seen or mentioned in other war films. I think the two actors who played these parts were excellent and made their character very believable but I really did not like the one of the sergeants as he was just to brutal and hard. There were a lot of supporting actors in the film and I was actually surprised to see a small role by Johnny Depp which I found was excellent but I did not like the ending they gave him! A few of the actors included, William Defoe, Tom Berenger and Kevin Dillon.

The film was set in the Vietnamese jungle and I thought that all of the sets and scenery was excellent done. I thought that it all looked authentic and real. The special effects throughout the film really were amazing and looked so real. I think this is what helped make the film so good as some of the horrors and wounds which we saw looked so authentic and at times were horrid to watch. The music was also another good point to the film and I think it helped a lot with the tensions and emotions of the film. I was always able to tell when the men were going to be attacked as a certain piece of music was played which did actually help and give me a bit of warning!

I found that the whole film showed a good side to the US army as well as a bad one, there was a good camaraderie between a lot of the men which was nice to see and how they would help the innocent locals but then there was the few which would kill anyone and anything in sight and this for me was not nice viewing and at times I did shout at the screen to try and stop someone innocent being shot, I know it s daft but this is how much I got into the story and the whole emotions of the film!

The DVD which we have does not have any bonus features apart from a theatrical trailer but I did not watch this. The running time of the film is 1 hour and 55 minutes and the certificate is a 15 as there is a lot of violence, string language and drug use. I do definitely agree with this rating as at times I did find it hard to watch and do not recommend this to anyone under the age of 15.

I managed to get this DVD for just £3 in Tesco which I felt to be a great price for such a moving, emotional and well made film. Overall I do recommend this as it shows the story on one innocent man who is thrown into a horrific and brutal war and his struggle to deal with this and loose all his innocence.

Summary: Chris faces the dangers of Vietnam as an innocent new recruit, just how will he cope?