Platoon is a war film written and directed by Oliver Stone. It is based upon Oliver Stone’s experience as an infantryman in Vietnam. The Theme of the film is the struggle for Chris’ soul, played by Charlie Sheen. The battle for his soul is between the two platoon leaders Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias. Sergeant Barnes is seen as a brutal and unethical person, but the platoon depends on him for their survival and his leadership abilities. While on the other hand Sergeant Elias is a caring person, but he is also a strong leader, even though it seems he is against the war in Vietnam.
The movie was both praised and criticized by the critics, mainly because of its presentation of the brutal violence seen during the movie, depicting the war. Also the moral ambiguity created by the realities of the guerilla war the men were fighting. “Platoon,” portrays the U.S. soldiers as violent and indiscriminate killers fueled by rage, from being surrounded by the death of their friends. Much of the soldier’s anger is seen taken out on the Vietnamese villagers. Where in a scene Chris is seen losing his temper with a villager for not coming out from hiding, he yells, and shoots at him to scare the villager but then can’t go through with killing him, this is when a soldier nicknamed, “Bunny,” beats the man to death with his gun.
This scene is just one of the many controversial aspects of the war that the movie shows. There is a scene in a bunker where some of the men are seen drinking and doing drugs, portraying another, “bad,” side of the war. Other scenes show the horrible treatment of the new guys or “FNGs,” as well as the deliberate killings of unpopular officers within the platoon.
The film is an excellent depiction of the war’s confusion, frustration, rage, hatred and fear. “Platoon,” is in essence a story of the battle between good and evil. It is a view of hell from the grunts point of view, very powerful and seemingly realistic. Oliver...