Platoon - Movie Review

I'm not going to review this because everybody's seen it. I thought it was OK. I watched it because it's considered to be the best Vietnam War movie and possibly the best war movie ever.

What I'd really like to address though is this persistent belief people have that if we just make a war movie that is very good at depicting the reality of war, rather than glorify it, then people (especially young men) won't be so gung-ho about fighting in a war. Everyone wants my kids to see "Saving Private Ryan" so they'll know how horrible war can be, presumably to discourage them from entering military service. A movie is not going to do it.

The only way someone could possibly understand the horror of war is to be in one. All war movies glorify war regardless of intent. I'm 47, I've never been in a war and I'll probably never be in a war. When Sargent Elias goes solo to intercept the flanking NVA troops and kills them all with the skill and cunning that 3 years of battle experience has given him, it's cool! My guess is that men and women who perform these heroic acts don't think they're going to make it through alive.

I'm pretty sure that men and women who have seen combat find it ludicrous that others think you can understand what it's like by watching a movie. My point is that young men think they will be able to make it, they'll be cool like Sargent Elias (except they won't die). Hell, I'm 47 and I still think that. But I'll betcha once I'm in the smoke and confusion and explosions I'll wish to hell I was back in my office writing code or watching war movies on DVD.

I wish we didn't have to have wars. Maybe someday we won't. Thank you to all Veterans for your service, whether you saw combat or not. Just by signing up you put yourself in danger, even if you were just trying to get money for college. I hope the politicians think long and hard before committing troops to battle. It's not just the loss of life or physical injuries. A lot of very tough strong people are completely destabilized by the experience and never really get their life back.