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Platoon put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is based on Stone's firsthand experience as an American soldier in Vietnam. Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's
The Last Temptation of Christ), and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side. The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice--pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam.
Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director.
--Jim Emerson
Review
Platoon is remembered for the striking realism with which it recreated the Vietnam War from the viewpoint of the U.S. soldier. At stark contrast are the story's two protagonists, played by Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe, the latter at peace with himself despite the hostilities around him, the former representing the corruption of ideals that defined American participation in the war. The film established Oliver Stone as a major director and boosted the careers of several cast members, including Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Depp. Delivering as the favorite at the Oscars, Platoon took four statues in the seven categories in which it was nominated, including one for Stone and for Best Picture. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
