Platoon (1986)

Watched on 2026-03-13

This was on TV so I watched it. My previous exposure to the film had been via the Ocean software licenced computer game on the Amiga and my school friend who was obsessed with the Vietnam war (think Mike from Spaced). Turns out the Ocean game did a remarkably good job of translating the film to magnetic media given the constraints etc.

I went in with low expectations and they were met. Stone can frame a scene and the film looks pretty good but Sheen's voiceover starts overwritten and ends absurd (possibly my having recently watched a trailer for Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) makes things worse).

As a veteran of the war it's understandable that Stone should try to give meaning to the grunt's presence in the country but it doesn't stick and can feel like he's making excuses for the whole endeavour which I think is precisely the opposite of his intent (I imagine). Further the warcrimes stuff was undermined by the traditionaly hollywood way the action scenes are filmed. I just felt tonally it didn't hang together.

In some ways I think the film is kind of the opposite of Warfare (2025) which has an official stamp of approval from the military and is ostensibly "apolitical" but forcefully shows the utter lack of meaning and agency in the soldiers roles.

Wilem Dafoe stole the film for me, when he's on the screen things are 100% more interesting.