RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Platoon
Platoon

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Platoon (1986)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
85 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:35

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.8/10

Consensus: Informed by director Oliver Stone's personal experiences in Vietnam, Platoon foregoes easy sermonizing in favor of a harrowing, ground-level view of war, bolstered by no-holds-barred performances from Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe.

Runtime: 3 hrs 20 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and... In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss. [More]

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Francesco Quinn

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, Johnny Depp, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, John C. McGinley, Richard Edson

Director: Oliver Stone

Director: Oliver Stone
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, A. Kitman Ho
Composer: Georges Delerue, Stephen Barber

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Dec 9, 1997

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Platoon

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The artistic veneer Stone applies, along with the simpy narration provided for Sheen in the way of letters to his grandmother, detract significantly from the work's immediacy.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 2 Comments
02/20/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The first and best of Stone's Vietnam trilogy, it's also one of his finest pieces of work.

Full Review Source: Film4 | comment Comment
02/20/09
Film4

For all the purported naturalism, the film seems resolutely schematic, and the attitudes shaping the drama are far from open-ended.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
02/05/07
Pat Graham
Pat Graham
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment 1 Comment
01/28/07
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

A terrific film from a filmmaker long absent from his art, Platoon is a frightening and challenging look into the battlefield operations of Vietnam.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
12/27/06
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

Stone's eye-blistering images possess an awesome power, which sets the senses reeling and leaves the mind disturbed.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

... excellent ... elegiac and poetry-stuffed

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/23/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Mixing realistic reportage of combat with more conventional morality play (the narrative strategy of all his films), Stone employs the two sergeants (Berenger and Dafoe) as realistic soldiers as well as broader symbols of Good and Evil.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
04/22/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
03/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
09/27/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
09/14/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment 2 Comments
08/18/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

well made but dishonestly anti-American

comment 11 Comments
07/09/05
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/06/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
03/19/05
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Stone takes us into the hell that was the Vietnam War and turns out a provocative film.

comment Comment
11/23/04
Andrew Griffin
Andrew Griffin
Town Talk (Alexandria, LA)

A tour de force with excellent ensemble performances by the full cast, Platoon succeeds in conveying the multi-dimensional reality of the Vietnam War

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/18/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/04
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Platoon

January 22, 2009: RT Interview: Gus van Sant and Dustin Lance Black on Milk
Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black look rather exhausted at this stage in their publicity whirlwind for Milk. The day RT sits down with them, the film has just received four... More...

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
40% 40% Surrogates
83% 83% Whip It
29% 29% Gamer
97% 97% The Hurt Locker
81% 81% Michael Jackson's This…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
87% 87% A Serious Man
37% 37% The Time Traveler's Wife
78% 78% Bronson
11% 11% The Stepfather

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

Sir Anthony Hopkins best reviewed movies!

Great Directors

Great Directors

Take a trip though Martin Scorsese's career!

Runaways Pictures

Runaways Pictures

Run away with Kristen and Dakota!

Wolfman Clips

Wolfman Clips

Watch out! The Wolfman is back!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tom Cruise Accepts Another Mission: Impossible Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
16
  • Chris Nolan on Board for Dark Knight Sequel -- and Superman Reboot? Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
222
  • Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Source: Hollywood Reporter
58
  • Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie Source: HitFix
8
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters III Source: Sunday Mail [UK]
56
  • Captain America News, News, and More News Source: Collider.com
20
  • Taylor Lautner Is Stretch Armstrong Source: MTV
78
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
288
  • Percy Jackson Star (Briefly) Rumored for Spider-Man Reboot Source: Hollywood Reporter
35
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
140
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Jeff Bridges' Best Movies
114
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Finally Toppled by Dear John
102
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
96
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
70
  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe
35
  • Friday Harvest: The Last Airbender, The A-Team, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: From Paris With Love Is Not Bon
22
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose
17
  • Total Recall: Anthony Hopkins' Best Movies
17
  • Awards Tour: Pixar and Disney Rule The Annies
15
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Oscar Nominee Gabby Sidibe Talks Precious
20
  • One Man's Quest To Find The Worst Movie Ever
7
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
77
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
3
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
13
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Platoon at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Platoon at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Celebrity Yearbook Photos
Celebrity Yearbook Photos External Link

Check out PopEater's collection of childhood photos of celebs, from Tom Cruise to Kim Kardashian.

Who Will Win the Oscars?
Who Will Win the Oscars? External Link

TIME's Richard Corliss pores over the Oscar noms for the major awards and offers his take on who will win.

Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness?
Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness? External Link

For a different take, the AV Club delves into why awards season is terrible.

Who's the Razziest?
Who's the Razziest? External Link

Moviefone has put together a list of the actors with the most Razzie noms ever.

Mass Effect Movie?
Mass Effect Movie? External Link

Hollywood.com makes a case for a big screen adaptation of popular game Mass Effect.

Promos
Get the Flixster App Now!
Get the Flixster App Now! External Link

Download it from iTunes and get Tomatometer scores straight to your iPhone!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.