Platoon -
Sgt. Elias, so well-played by Willem Dafoe (someone I think is an underappreciated actor) demonstrates the side of "good", while Sgt. Barnes (potrayed by a disturbingly good Tom Berenger) is "evil". The fact that the platoon is divided equally down the two sides is indicative of the division the Viet Nam war caused in the United States.
Watching the innocent volunteer soldier, Chris (played by Charlie Sheen) as he encounters the atrocities of war firsthand, we are given a frightening view of the reality of war, not a glamourized version designed to encourage enlistment. It is almost impossible to reconcile in the mind that Platoon and Top Gun were released the same year.
To watch "Platoon" is to take a step into a world most wish never to physically be a part of - where fear, loss and betrayal can come at any moment. But, we must take the time to watch, so that we can learn from and appreciate those who do the "grunt" work so that we don't have to. As Chris says "They're the bottom of the barrel and they know it. Maybe that's why they call themselves grunts, cause a grunt can take it, can take anything. They're the best I've ever seen, Grandma. The heart & soul."
The drug use and the language do not make this a movie for those who are strongly offended by these type of actions, but they help to portray clean-cut boys, who also become victims of war. The world would never be the same, and neither would the lives of the men who fought there.
