Platoon (1986)

Platoon (1986)
Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals,...
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Release Date: 1986

DVD Release Date: December 10th, 1997

R |2 hr 0 min

Plot Summary

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

Cast: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, John C. McGinley, Richard Edson, Kevin Dillon

Director: Oliver Stone

Genres: War , Drama

Production Co: Hemdale Film Corporation [us]

Keywords: Transformation, Dark, Soldier, 1960s, Gritty, Fall, Tense

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Film Fixation: Platoon

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Ratings & Reviews

100
Roger EbertChicago Sun-Times
It was Francois Truffaut who said that it's not possible to make an anti-war movie, because all war movies, with their energy and sense of adventure, end up making combat look like fun. If Truffaut had lived to see Platoon, the best film of 1986, he might have wanted to modify his opinion. Here is a movie that regards combat from ground level, from the infantryman's point of view, and it does not make war look like fun. show more
100
James BerardinelliReelViews
If Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter are like slaps to the face, Platoon is a punch to the gut. show more
100
Gene SiskelChicago Tribune
Platoon is filled with one fine performance after another, and one can only wish that every person who saw the cartoonish war fantasy that was Rambo would buy a ticket to Platoon and bear witness to something closer to the truth. show more

See all critic reviews on metacritic.com

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