Reviews of Platoon

Platoon

Posted : 6 months, 1 week ago on 17 January 2008 09:09 (A review of Platoon)

"Are you smoking this shit so's to escape from reality? Me, I don't need this shit. I am reality. There's the way it ought to be, and there's the way it is. Elias was full of shit. Elias was a crusader. Now, I got no fight... with any man who does what he's told. But when he don't, the machine breaks down. And when the machine breaks down, we break down. And I ain't gonna allow that... in any of you. Not one."

I find it hard sometimes to get into war films, this was one of them. I'm not saying it was bad, I just didn't like it quite as much as some other people did. Maybe if I watch it again sometime I might like it a little more, but for now it leaves me satisfied, nothing more.

The movie is based around a man, Chris Taylor, who has volunteered to fight for his country in the Vietnam War. Only soon after he arrives he struggles to survive, and realises that he is insignificant to the other soldiers as he has not been at the war for as long as they have. A rivalry is soon formed between his two commanding officers, so he soon realises that he is not only battling with his enemy, but with the conflict between the men in his platoon. There were two main reasons I saw this.. one being that it comes highly recommended by some of my friends.. the other that I wanted to see Johnny Depp. If someone only saw this because of Johnny (And I was close to that) then you might be a little disappointed. His role is very small, I found myself looking out for him throughout the whole movie.. waiting to see him, waiting for him to speak. Unfortunately he hardly says anything, but it's still interesting to see a successful actor like him in one of his older movies.

Charlie Sheen as Chris Taylor was someone I am unfamiliar with, so I didn't know what to expect from him. I thought he did a pretty decent job pulling off the main role in this flick. Willem Dafoe I really liked in this.. his character was one of the more like able ones, and he gave a strong performance. One scene I will definitely not forget from him was the shot that is used as the cover.. so convincing and horrifying, that was a very memorable moment for the film. Tom Berenger was great for his role.. creating a very odious character. Johnny Depp was brilliant for his small part, an intense performance from him.

My rating reflects my like of war films.. though this did have a great cast and amazing performances.. war movies like this just aren't my thing. Like I said though, a second viewing might make me change what I think of this film.

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Platoon review

Posted : 8 months, 3 weeks ago on 3 November 2007 07:56 (A review of Platoon)

A superb Vietnam war film packed with characters you might not traditionally associate with the soldier's role. Watching this film through again today, you see a handful of actors who went off on to bigger and better things, including a blink-and-you-miss-him cameo from Johnny Depp. The story-line is memorable and haunting. I remember the scene where the American GI's invade a small Viatnamese village ("which had probably stood for over a thousand years") and went on to torture, rape and murder the population before burning it to the ground. It's an extremely profound scene.

No doubt one of the most memorable moments of the film is the scene which gives the film its DVD cover, and the superb accompanying music which features upon Sheen's arrival and departure from the Vietnamese jungle. After seeing the final battle scene and the pandemonium that ensued afterwards, I couldn't help but feel utterly sympathetic to John McGinley's character. What a kick in the chops. Superb.

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