One of the best war films.

Another one of those war films that I can just watch repeatedly.

Effective, but rather pretentious and lacking in memorable characterization.

I just hated this

Massively overrated. Dafoe & Berenger are great but Sheen has never been suited for serious roles. The morality is so syrupy and cliched that it sometimes seems to slip into self-parody. There's even a soldier who dooms himself within seconds once he starts talking about his girlfriend. Can't believe there are people out there who think this is better than Apocalypse Now or FMJ.

Platoon is less about the war itself but a dysfunctional surrogate family with clashing morals. This is probably Oliver Stone's best film and it's often criticized for its portrayal of Vietnam soldiers but the criticism has to be taken as a compliment because of how many military establishment hackles it raises. The battle scenes are brutal and chaotic. If you take into consideration Stone's own military experiences the film is uncomfortably close to the truth.

Oliver Stone directs a fantastic film before he really developed all of the editing quirks and whatnot that make you distinctly know you're watching an Oliver Stone film nowadays. And that is a huge part of what makes Platoon so great. There's no gimmicks and added afterthoughts....it's just good performances on top of a compelling story. Period.