"That's what this place feels like. Hell. " (Platoon (DVD))

Member Name: mmintfresh

Product:	Platoon (DVD)
Date:	17/08/02 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realistic, Performances

Disadvantages: None

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a middle class college student. However he doesn't like the fact that poorer people are sent of to war whilst the rich kids stay at home so he drops out of college and enlists in the army. He then begins a years service in Vietnam. As soon as he arrives he realises that he has made a mistake. Firstly he is treated like crap by a lot of the other soldiers because he is the new guy. He finds the work and long marches tough and he is not ready for it. This is particularly shown when one night their is an ambush. He is the only one awake and sees the enemy approaching. Instead of doing something he freezes. Chris also learns something else, the Americans aren't just at war with the Vietnam soldiers, they are at war with themselves. His platoon seems to be split in two. Those who still have their sanity and morals. These are led by Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe), Chris starts to bond with him because he is like him in a way. They spend their free time hanging out in a tent smoking drugs. They also only really kill when they have to and when the platoon reaches a village that is suspected of harbouring the enemy they try and protect the women and children who are there.

The other half, led by Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) who is scared and has survived so many gunshots people believe he's super human. These people have almost or have lost it. They kill everyone and everything they see, they even at one point try to rape some young girls, which Chris stops. However as the war progresses and more and more people die Chris finds himself turning into an angry and frustrated man and takes this out on the enemy.

Platoon was written and directed by Oliver Stone and is very much influenced by his time in Vietnam. Like Chris he left college to go to Vietnam and regretted it. He has said that he wanted to show and remember what the war was like for him. Through his writing and directing he manages to do these things and also ha
s made one of the most realistic war films I have seen.

The first thing that struck me about the film was the way the plot is structured. It is essential about Chris and his life in Vietnam but his experiences are very much like a war. Things happen without warning and the enemy can strike at any moment. However Stone also gets a message through. War is not glamorous or fun. It was frightening and dangerous and lots of people died. Any character can and is killed off at any moment in bloody battles. This makes the film seems very realistic. It also makes the film quite disorientating because of the narrative strings that go off in all directions.

The battle sequences themselves are beautifully shot but also powerful and shocking. The night sequences are bathed in blue light and we are put into the shoes of the Platoon as we see the enemies slowly approaching cloaked in shadow. The gore level is quite high and the battles are even more disorientating because of the fact we don't really know what is going on, only that their is fighting, but we don't know who is dead, wounded or winning. These scenes are intercut with scenes that show the platoon resting or bonding. Elias half sit and have a good time in their tent, trying to escape the horrors of war. Whilst the others slag off other people and are generally horrible people. We also get to see the troops walking through the dense jungles and exploring the unknown territory. One of the most memorable of these scenes has to be when they reach the village.

The performances are outstanding and considering that for a lot of actors this was their first film it is even better. Charlie Sheen is great as Chris and captures his change and coming to terms with the war well. He is a likeable character and we get to know what he is thinking through his narration and by also learning what he writes to his grandmother. The narration very much echoes Martin Sheen's in Apocalypse Now. The two st
rongest roles in the film have to be Willem Dafoe's and Tom Berenger's. They are polar opposites and are rivals. Willem Dafoe captures the likableness of Elias but also shows that the war has taken it's toll on him, what happens to him (I can't say because it ruins the film) is for me the most memorable scene. Tome Berenger is perfectly detestable as Barnes but you also get the feeling that it is the war that made him like this. The two got two very deserved Oscar nominations.

Platoon has often been described as one of the best films of the eighties and you can see why. I would recommend this to all because it is a moving and powerful film which will keep you glued to the screen.

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