The second film in Oliver Stone's trilogy of Vietnam War films focuses more on the rhetoric of why and how people get caught up in fighting them and the affects that this fighting has. Not only on the mind, but the body too.
Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) is a teenager who grew up in a small town in Long Island. After seeing JFK's "Ask not what your country can do" speech as a young boy, he has grown up with an intense love for his country. As soon as he is able to do so, Ron joins the Marines and is shipped off to fight in Vietnam, where he is made a paraplegic from being shot in the neck. Once he returns home, he realises that not everyone the same die hard patriotism.
While this is far from being a great movie (I have some minor problems with its pacing), Stone does make a great statement about how young men get caught up in the fervour of war. Kovic grew up with the patriotism that pervaded Cold War-era America and after hearing the tales of his father and how the indoctrination of "The Greatest Generation" being so because they fought in the Second World War, it only makes sense that he wishes to enlist in the Marines and fight for his country. It is only after he is severely injured that he comes to realise that the Vietnam War was a wrong war to be fighting.
This movie has some extraordinary performances, but the majority of the movie is dominated by one. Cruise's Kovic is scarred by things that he did during the war and spends most of his time trying to atone for these things, but is ultimately unable to find peace. Willem Dafoe is quite extraordinary as a creepy wheelchair-bound vet that Ron meets in Mexico. The standout performance for me has always been Raymond J. Barry as Ron's father, who makes me cry without a doubt every time.
The soundtrack to this movie is probably the best part. Despite the best efforts to try and make "Moon River" the theme song (complete with a creepy drunken Tom Cruise rendition), The Temptations "My Girl" does a much better job at capturing the sound of the era. This is backed up by a great score from John Williams that follows the highs and lows of the film.
Verdict: A captivating film about the effects that war has on the people who fight in it.
While this is far from being a great movie (I have some minor problems with its pacing), Stone does make a great statement about how young men get caught up in the fervour of war. Kovic grew up with the patriotism that pervaded Cold War-era America and after hearing the tales of his father and how the indoctrination of "The Greatest Generation" being so because they fought in the Second World War, it only makes sense that he wishes to enlist in the Marines and fight for his country. It is only after he is severely injured that he comes to realise that the Vietnam War was a wrong war to be fighting.
This movie has some extraordinary performances, but the majority of the movie is dominated by one. Cruise's Kovic is scarred by things that he did during the war and spends most of his time trying to atone for these things, but is ultimately unable to find peace. Willem Dafoe is quite extraordinary as a creepy wheelchair-bound vet that Ron meets in Mexico. The standout performance for me has always been Raymond J. Barry as Ron's father, who makes me cry without a doubt every time.
The soundtrack to this movie is probably the best part. Despite the best efforts to try and make "Moon River" the theme song (complete with a creepy drunken Tom Cruise rendition), The Temptations "My Girl" does a much better job at capturing the sound of the era. This is backed up by a great score from John Williams that follows the highs and lows of the film.
Verdict: A captivating film about the effects that war has on the people who fight in it.
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