jlthornb51
Powerful, moving motion picture with uniformly superb performances from an excellent cast. The battle scenes are horrific in their realism and the technical aspects of this fine film are superior to many others that attempt to capture the hell our soldiers went through in Viet Nam. Working with a small budget but a stunning script, this is a film that deserves to be recognized along with Apocalypse Now, Go Tell the Spartans, and Hamburger Hill. Full Metal Jacket may be a work of genius but it has nothing to compare to a true, heartfelt effort such as this. Where Oliver Stone failed to really communicate the reality of war, Platoon Leader nails it with no compromise. Beautiful cinematography and a stirring score accentuate this small masterpiece and the director has never done better work. While it stands in the shadow of big studio releases and never received the attention or accolades that should have been afforded it, Platoon Leader is possibly the definitive motion picture depiction of the American soldier's brutal experience in that horrific jungle conflict.
Beowolff29
i was there. plain and simple, this movie gives a very accurate account of the times during the Viet War... you would have had to be there to appreciate that fact.i (or any other vet) hardly expects the great unwashed masses that's never been to a hell hole like that or never been fired at or never picked up a weapon to do battle against a merciless foe to understand it. so naturally bad comments like, Worst Movie Ever, etc, etc...are to be expected. those sorts want only pure ENTERTAINMENT---and any historical value or memorial value or 'happened like REAL LIFE' value means NOTHING to them. :-( MD did a good, solid, very realistic job of portraying a young, green, Platoon Leader barely hanging onto his job AND his life (and that of his platoon's)in a VERY frightening (read impossible) situation...so good in fact that he reminds me of several of my own "Lutes" that i fought with (most of them died, sadly.) no, the film isn't perfect, but it's good solid fare for people REALLY interested in how it was in 'Nam. the rest of you clueless cats can eat it and die...who cares anyway what "YOU" think. you weren't there so you don't know jack-C--P about REAL war! btw...the 'grenade' comment is again obviously from somebody that has never fired a gun (or thrown a grenade) in anger. we only saw a FEW guys toss grenades in the film. quite possibly they were 'other' soldiers out of eyeshot ALSO tossing grenades! ---or possibly there were unseen explosives that the exploding grenades set off? d'oh! give this movie a break. and give it a look, cause it ain't bad at all for Hollywood combat. like the other fellow said...cause the Vets say it...and cause "I" say it! :-)
The-Mighty-Vindicator
Having seen many war flicks (including the Cannon Group's Chuck Norris attempts) about the Vietnam War, this one tops them all. They even include the horrible effects of the illegal drugs some troops took in the field. If Vietnam Vets give this a great rating - I mean, come on, they were there! - no one should question their expertise and thumbs-up on this movie.I wasn't sure when I saw this, but I thought, "Man, this seems so realistic, I wonder if things were like this over there?" The vets' comments here confirm that.I only add my comments here to bolster this great war movie and commend the vets for confirming my thoughts. Thank you to them and to the great team that put this film together.Well done.
capo-4
If you want to see the Vietnam War as it was experienced by a real Platoon Leader, this is it. Authentic, down to the mannerisms, slang, terror and disillusion of it all, this film has none of the wierd phantasms of Apocalypse Now or the left wing political hype of Oliver Stone's Platoon.Richard C. Caporiccio, LTC, US Army, Retired, former Platoon Leader, 3rd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne), LZ Uplift, Republic of Vietnam from Jan 2 to December 24, 1969.
AD
