Oliver Stone’s first Vietnam war film seems trashy in places (the script could have been stronger), but it does a good job of storytelling. There are three main threads: the young soldier who loses his innocence (Charlie Sheen), two feuding sergeants (Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger), and a wider narrative about the US forces being out of their depth in a conflict that made no sense to them. It’s gory and harrowing at times. Watching it so soon after Apocalypse Now meant it was difficult not to compare them, and Platoon has none of that masterpiece’s poetry or visual flair. It’s rather surreal that the star of this film is the son of the star of that film, almost as if Platoon is the sequel.
If you believe Full Metal Jacket, all new soldiers had their heads shaved. Why, then, did Charlie Sheen have long, 1980s-style hair?
Despite its flaws, Platoon builds to a satisfying resolution, and as an anti-war film it very effectively shows you how desperate and horrible it was for these young men.
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