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.

Oliver Stone's hard-hitting, compulsively watchable Vietnam epic is based on his own experiences fighting in the US army. It's rightly regarded as something of a classic film of the 1980s, and watching it you get the right idea about war: it's a terrible, soul-destroying, and utterly nihilistic experience in which men are turned into cattle and moralities fly out of the window. It's also a hugely influential film; pretty much any Vietnam film made since must use this film as a template. You can't imagine Mel Gibson's WE WERE SOLDIERS without this, for instance.

Unlike many modern war films, this isn't an action film, although there is plenty of fighting. Instead it's an intense drama with some scenes of physical violence and rape that are almost unwatchable – not because they're graphic, but because they're so powerfully portrayed and well directed. The film has something of a slow start, and it does take a while for the lead, played by Charlie Sheen, to warm to the viewer (I suspect this is because Sheen has mercilessly spoofed his role in the HOT SHOTS! films). Once we reach the jungle, though, the film hits a high note, as loyalties are divided, booby traps and the enemy are lurking around every corner, and tempers flare. Things culminate with an overwhelming onslaught from the enemy in which everybody's fate is finally decided. The ending of this film is truly intense – I haven't seen much like it – and will leave you feeling tired and emotionally drained afterwards.

The cast is superb. It's one of those films where nobody puts a foot wrong. By the end, Sheen is giving his greatest performance in a film – ever. Tom Berenger's scarred sergeant is a supremely scary creation, more monstrous than a dozen Kruegers or Vorhees. The film served as a springboard for many young actors in the '80s, so roles are fleshed out by the likes of John C. McGinley, Forest Whitaker, Tony Todd, Johnny Depp, Keith David, and Kevin Dillon. Cinematography, music, and effects are all great but the one thing you'll take away with you is a career-best Willem Dafoe as one of the good guys for a change.