PLATOON

There's no escaping the human element in this film, making the atrocities of war all the more awful.

Long before Charlie Sheen became a winning warlock who took on the world with his violent torpedoes of truth, he was a promising young actor who seemed very likely to step out from behind his father's shadow and become one of the great talents of our time.  Few things exemplify his potential and his range as well as the 1986 Oliver Stone film, Platoon.  The movie not only captures the confusion and the pointlessness of the Vietnam experience, it reminds us how truly gifted its cast members were.

Feeling that rich kids shouldn't get all the breaks, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) quits college and enlists in the service to do his part in Vietnam.  Believing he is fighting for a worthy cause and doing the honorable thing, Chris begins his journey with his heart in the right place.  He doesn't have to be there, and is in many ways naive to the realities he's about to face.  We hear his reflections through letters to his grandmother as we watch his story unfold.

Though the brutal physical conditions and constant danger are a shock to the system, they are at least to be expected.  What comes as a complete shock are the inner-workings of the platoon itself: a bizarre hierarchy that has nothing to do with camaraderie or getting out alive.  As Chris struggles to earn his place, stay alive, and remain sane, he witnesses the arbitrary cruelty and betrayal amongst his fellow soldiers as well as the hardening of otherwise decent men.  He is driven to commit acts that are completely out of character, but the frustration of a futile mission and the constant physical and emotional stress are enough to drive anyone over the edge.  And the reward for this harrowing experience?  Survival.  In the end, there is no sense of accomplishment, no meaningful takeaway: just the knowledge that humans can be aimlessly and endlessly cruel to one another.

Though Stone's portrayal of the Vietnam experience is unflinchingly realistic, the characters make the film relatable for any viewer.  There's no escaping the human element in this film, making the atrocities of war all the more awful.

DVD & BLU-RAY NOTES

Extra features on the Blu-Ray disc include audio commentary with Oliver Stone and military adviser Dale Dye, deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, the documentary "One War, Many Stories", and the featurette "Flashback to Platoon" which focuses on recreating the era and the experience of Vietnam for the film. The original theatrical trailer and TV spots round out the extras. Disc two is a standard DVD edition of the film.