Critic Reviews

Platoon (1986) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Platoon (1986) a score of 3.0349 out of 4

based on (84) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(19)

Very Good

(58)

Good

(6)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(1)

Reviews by Score:

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Francois Truffaut who said that it's not possible to make an anti-war movie, because all war movies, with their energy and sense of adventure, end up making combat look like fun. If Truffaut had lived to see "Platoon," the best film of 1986, he might ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Most war films adhere to a big-picture purview, explaining which battles meant what and fulfilled which strategic objectives. Stone's effort skirts all that in favor of wrapping the viewer in visceral detail. ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)

A terrific film from a filmmaker long absent from his art, Platoon is a frightening and challenging look into the battlefield operations of Vietnam. ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Oscar Guy (Wesley Lovell)

New York Times (Vincent Canby)

Possibly the best work of any kind about the Vietnam War since Michael Herr's vigorous and hallucinatory book ' Dispatches . ...read the complete Platoon movie review at New York Times (Vincent Canby)

David Landers

The story is told from the eyes of Chris, an educated, wealthy college drop-out played by Charlie Sheen in a role similar to his father's role in APOCALYPSE NOW nearly a decade earlier. Chris feels that it is his duty to serve his country in the ...read the complete Platoon movie review at David Landers

eFilmCritic.com (--)

...read the complete Platoon movie review at eFilmCritic.com (--)

digitallyOBSESSED.com (Kevin Clemons)

It is this reviewer's opinion that truer words are very rarely spoken. Even though war has never seemed fun in my eyes, I strongly believe that Hollywood has a tendency to glorify the matter. And while Platoon was not the first anti-war movie to come ...read the complete Platoon movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Kevin Clemons)

DVD Talk (Phil Bacharach)

The third time this extraordinary film has been brought to DVD, Platoon finally gets the stellar treatment it deserves. Brilliantly directed, beautifully acted, thought-provoking and poignant, and with a slew of extras that actually enhance viewers' ...read the complete Platoon movie review at DVD Talk (Phil Bacharach)

DVDActive (Casimir Harlow)

Platoon is an adrenaline-packed, harrowing tale of some of the most shocking and explosive battles fought within Stone�s experience of Vietnam. With resoundingly good performances from an excellent cast and some of the most memorable sequences in movie h ...read the complete Platoon movie review at DVDActive (Casimir Harlow)

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Like no other movie could tell, Platoon shows us categorically that war -- and especially the Vietnam War -- is hell. The story is vintage Oliver Stone -- based on his own experiences in the bush with only a few moments of fictionalization. In ...read the complete Platoon movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

... excellent ... elegiac and poetry-stuffed ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

The first thing Taylor sees as his transport plane lands in Vietnam are all the body bags and the disheartened looks of the soldiers leaving to go back home. It is 1967. His unit will be somewhere near the Cambodian border, in the jungle, where just ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Oliver Stone's impression of the Vietnam War, taken from when he observed it first-hand as a grunt. ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Empire Magazine [UK]

Oliver Stone's war classic is overlooked sometimes because of it's brutal but long-winded potrayal of the duality of man. This however remains gripping stuff. ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]

Movies for Guys

The DVD seems like it was just tossed together in order to get it on the shelves of your local video store. It's quite bare-bones, with the only "extra" being a trailer for the ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Movies for Guys

UpcomingDiscs.com (Ryan Keefer)

There are a good number of people who have labeled Oliver Stone as a fan of conspiracy theories, out to destroy foundations of conservative ideology, while at the same time re-visiting 60�s nostalgic icons. Despite the jokes and the stereotyping, one ...read the complete Platoon movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com (Ryan Keefer)

TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

Chris (Charlie Sheen), a green recruit and child of privilege who dropped out of college and enlisted, finds himself in Vietnam as a member of a platoon divided against itself. On one side is Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), a horribly scarred veteran ...read the complete Platoon movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

Movie Reviews UK

A stark, brutal, first-person account of the hell that was Vietnam, Platoon presents the extremes engendered by such a conflict and no easy answers. Transported into the humidity of Vietnam, rookie soldier Chris's (Charlie Sheen) first sight is a pile ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Movie Reviews UK

Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)

Not for Nam-by pambies ("Nam", geddit? As in VietNAM, you see? No? Oh, just forget it). ...read the complete Platoon movie review at Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)

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