This is considered a good movie?

Platoon is a very intense movie, it seems to try to put almost every possible horrible event out of the Vietnam war into one movie. This really hit home back in 1986. I'm not sure it can be viewed the same way here several decades later.

The point is, Sheen and Dillon's characters are NOT tough. They are scared teenage kids putting on a big front. Their toughness was copied from old cowboy and gangster shows they watched as children on TV in the 1950s. They are "The phony tough and the crazy brave" to quote from Full Metal Jacket. Their attempts at toughness should indeed come across as awkward and foolish. They were not playing Rambo characters, or even a more realistic tough guy veteran like Barnes. They did a great job as the scared, bluffing kids they were supposed to be.

Of course it is, mr.edgy hipster.

I think it's a great movie. I had a cousin who fought in Vietnam and remember him telling me how realistic he thought the movie was when it first came out. It's a hard watch at times, but it really left an impression on me.

**I'm not sure I've ever actually seen the whole thing from start-to-finish **

You should watch the entire movie. Simply watching bits and pieces of it won't do it justice.

Platoon is a great movie and many agree that it's one of the best war films ever. From what I recall, this was one of the first war films to actually demonstrate the horrors of war, while most of the war films before it were simply tales of heroism, with lead characters that never get killed.

You might like Full Metal Jacket more than this, it came out in the same year but Platoon got most of the attention.

I think Sheen's performance was better than Modine's (in Full Metal Jacket). Both were two of Hollywood's young male actors at the time but neither ended up being really huge stars.

4 time Oscar winner. Back when The Oscars still actually meant something. So 🖕🖕

platoon is great war film. only problems is that it is made too heavy handed.

stone style so in your face all time he is screaming his point across when being subtle would be better.

i give this film 8/10. it would be 9/10 with more subtle film makings.