Draft Dodgers in Hollywood smear Vietnam Vets. Total crap.

One of the best movies, of any genre, ever made.  Heroes come in many forms.  Sometimes I wonder whether ClassicTVFan is an optimist, as he'd have us believe, or just scared of feeling anything but happy.  Not to get overly Dr. Phil on you...

It was some harsh realism that I guess some people are still not prepared to digest. As to the cursing I will say that the F bomb is a varitable artform for the average enlisted grunt, so leaving it out of such a movie is simply not an option. I'll give it a four because I like Full Metal Jacket better.
-Corporal F***ing Numbah, still a Marine at heart even though I expired from active duty in 2002

There were at least brief (albeit very brief) times I enjoyed Apocalypse Now. Platoon cannot even offer a fleeting few seconds of relief from its constant drumbeat of amorality, violence, death, and its tedious plot progression. Really, theres not much to the movie aside from uncreative scenes of combat, drug use, and cursinglots of cursing. Did I mention all the language? Seriously, why do filmmakers feel the need to pepper every line of dialogue with the f-bomb (Platoon has 159 instances of this useless word)? It seems so incredibly lazy. Verbosity is a good thing! Anywaylike most modern war films, apparently everyone in the military has no moral compass. Everyone kills others, does drugs, uses the f-bomb and on and on. This one has a particularly slimy portrayal of the military as rapists and child murderers (a stereotype real Vietnam War vets will gladly debunk). Sure, there were a few bad guys in the military, but not every one. And, following them around does not good cinema make! The ending is just there, and the movie just fizzles out in a puff of melodrama. This tedious film, which dragged on far too long, should be avoided at all costs.

I love ClassicTVFan's comment: "Most war movies are just terrible, nihilistic, and dark." With the exception of perhaps "Dr. Strangelove" or "MASH", there is a reason that war movies are this way: War is terribile, nihilistic and dark. It would be strange if all of a sudden Willem Dafoe started singing and dancing as the Vietcong cut him down (although that may be a funny spoof. ;-))

A riveting film that exposes just what can happen to people in the front lines.I know Viet Nam Vets who had an awful time getting through this movie,only to tell me it was "too realistic'.They did not care to "go there" again.Ever.

One of the great war movies ever along with full metal jacket, and apocalypse now

One of the best war films ever made.

Wow...this movie is powerful. I actually got the feeling like I was a grunt and would never leave. Dafoe and Berenger were superb. Almost hard to watch.

1 of my top 5 movies.Wow!Almost 100% flawless.

Just happened to be on tv this evening. Always knew it was considered a powerful movie, but never actually watched it before. Watching it, I have to say it's the most touching piece of cinema I've seen since Schindler's List. My first impression was: You KNOW s**t like that's happening in Iraq right now. The second was: This should be required viewing for any soldier setting foot there.

A little above average, but only a little. Berenger is very strong, but the rest of the cast is mediocre. Sheen is particularly weak.

Superb!! That's the only word I can say to describe this movie. Have seen it 2 times. Willem Defoe, what can I say, the man is not only gorgeous, but he can act too!! The scene where he runs out to the chopper barely alive, excellent!!

Gripping, violent, depressing, yet very watchable. The internal civil war between Barnes and Elias is fascinating. A groundbreaking film in the history of war movies. Great casting- all the actors are terrific.

Platoon is one of the best Vietnam movies made. While I was seriously considering giving it 4 stars, aka Good, I decided to give it 5, because it isn't just good, it's great. The fact that Oliver Stone was in the war himself makes it that much more believable. A haunting experience that really delivers the good. The acting makes it more believable, Sheen's performance is great, as is Dafoe's and Berenger's. I recommend this highly. It certainly deserved the Best Picture Oscar. A must-see. Summary: THE 3RD BEST 'NAM MOVIE. BRILLIANT.

another cool war movie. the music is awsome, I've loved adagio for strings for a long time. very emotional and twisted, I love those kind of movies

A movie so real it can almost be catagorized as a horror film. The brutality, lose of innocence and the lack of compassion for ones fellow man and how being put in the center of hell can tear your soul and mind completley apart. This is one of the most heartwrenching and interesting films ever made. A true classic that will hold true forever with it's incredible depiction of the Vietnam war. HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

the best vietnam movie a must.

I gave Platoon a great rating because the movie was very well directed. From the actors that played the roles, to the storyline, it was all good. This is one of my favorite movies.

Platoon was a movie about Vietnam. The movie showed a good portrayal of how the war was for the soldiers. It had plenty of action and violence which is entertaining.

This classic view on war is my first experience with the grotesqueness of war. The realities of what war was about and what it meant to those trying to survive through it gives you a new appreciation for life.

Probably the best of the Vietnam war movies. Oliver Stone is a bit of a wingnut, but this movie is his crowning achievement. Stone used his own war experiences in Vietnam to bring an uncanny realism to this film.