Review for Platoon

Platoon is a film that you need to experience. Many Vietnam or war films over the years have tried to burn themselves into the social conscience. However, many become a cliche. Apocalypse Now became only about 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning', Full Metal Jacket became just about the abusive (and often hilarious) boot camp training. Platoon is none of these things. There is no humour in this film, there is nothing in this film that does not recreate the horror of war, not just of Vietnam, but war itself. Oliver Stone was able to take his own experiences from Vietnam and created a film that serves as a warning of the futility and devastation that war can create.

The film tells the story of Chris (Charlie 'Duh Winning' Sheen) a young man who has decided to enlist for combat duty in Vietnam. Here he experiences the horrors of the war. The film explores the confusion and the horror that came during the war. This includes the killing of innocent Vietnamese civilians who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. At times these scenes are very visceral and hard to watch, but that is why they have so much impact. The sight of one of the soldiers bashing in a civilian's head only to comment on the impact of the brains is unbelievable, though it is the easiest way to show just how much killing soon meant nothing to these people who many felt shouldn't have been there in the first place.

One of the things I love about Platoon is that if you look at the cast list it is almost a list of people 'who will be stars': Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Depp, Keith David, John C McGinley, Kevin Dillon, Tony Todd, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger amongst others. The number of awards that this cast have collected over the years is astounding and they all put in amazing performances within this film.

Stone's direction is amazing and his Oscar for this is well deserved as was the Oscar for Editing as the film moves along at a break-neck pace despite the feeling that nothing really happens for the first half hour. Once the film kicks into overdrive the characters and performances are just stunning. Dafoe and Berenger are perfect as two sides of the same coin and Charlie Sheen gives a very truthful performance (despite the fact I keep being reminded of his dad, Martin Sheen's performance from Apocalypse Now, especially with the voice overs).

I found the ensemble cast work so well with each other that at times it feels more like a documentary than a movie. The use of music and the same piece of instrumental music is possibly one of the best uses of music that I can recall from a film.

This Blu-ray, as well as looking and sounding amazing, is lock and loaded with so much great features that even if you may only watch this film once or twice there is certainly something here that will keep you coming back for more. The two commentaries (one by Director Oliver Stone and one by the technical advisor) are wonderful, though I do think that the technical advisor should have had someone to bounce his stories off.

Documentaries cover the film and the Vietnam war itself and these are very good if you are interested in this period.  This is all rounded off with some extra little stories (including a funny story about how Stone came up with the name of his Wall Street character Gordon Gekko after his experience making this film) and also some great deleted/extended scenes that could have easily have been worked into the film as an 'extended cut'.

Platoon is not an easy film to watch, but it is a film that needs to be watched. Anyone who wants to experience what happened during Vietnam (or indeed all wars) needs to watch this film.