Platoon

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Platoon

R

1986

2h 0m

War

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

122 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

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Critics Consensus

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

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

08/23/2022

This is a great American movie -- easily the most powerful film of the year.

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Marsha McCreadie

Arizona Republic

08/23/2022

I didn't take a single note during the screening of Platoon: It's that engrossing, that overwhelming.

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Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

08/23/2022

It's a powerful, painful, must-see film -- an impassioned and riveting dispatch from the front that's at once a battle cry and a lamentation.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

05/26/2025

5/5

Oliver Stone's harrowing war picture was the first movie that felt like a genuine depiction of that terrible war, and brought collective catharsis for America's tragedy in Vietnam.

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Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

06/14/2023

One of the most visceral and authentic war films ever made.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

10/11/2022

3.5/4

Platoon may not be the best Vietnam war film ever made -- I still prefer both Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket by a healthy margin -- but I wouldn't care to argue with any veteran who states that it's the most honest depiction of that insane skirmish.

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Renaldo D

@RT30888824 1d

A great war movie. Fantastic scenes, as well as the performances.

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Manuel P

@RT29331666 3d

It is amazing that Oliver Stone, being a veteran himself, was self aware enough to portray US veterans in any war of aggression as what they are: war criminals.

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Jon G

@RT43191456 Jun 21

A masterpiece on the Vietnam war, a must see.i

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Chris B

@Papa13070 Jun 3

Platoon is a must see for any fan of war movies. The film that put Stone on the map, Platoon is considered by Vietnam Vets as the most realistic (my father having been one of them). But in keeping the maxim of giving credit where credit is due, much of the success of Platoon belongs to military adviser Captain Dale Dye, who has been linked to pretty much every great war movie in the last twenty years. Much accolades to Tom Berenger as well, whose performance as Sgt. Barnes is the tour de force of his career (the scene in the village towards the end of the movie is brutal, befitting the character). With a great script, great performances, and awesome cinematography, Platoon is a surefire classic.

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Garrett B

@gmoney637 May 25

Platoon is a dark, gritty and deeply emotional war drama and the horrors of war itself.

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Maarit L

@Komedienne May 23

I don’t like Oliver Stone’s preachy, didactic style. The characters also feel unconvincing

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Oliver Stone

Director

Tom Berenger

Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes

Willem Dafoe

Sgt. Elias Grodin

Charlie Sheen

Pvt. Chris Taylor

Forest Whitaker

Big Harold

Francesco Quinn

Rhah

Platoon: Official Clip - Pecker Hard, Powder Dry

3:02

Platoon: Official Clip - Retribution

4:16

Platoon: Official Clip - I Am Reality

2:06

Platoon: Official Clip - The Death of Sgt. Elias

3:09

Platoon: Official Clip - Elias is Betrayed

2:09

Platoon: Official Clip - Burning the Village

3:05

Platoon: Official Clip - We're Gonna Lose This War

1:13

Platoon: Official Clip - Barnes Crosses the Line

2:40

Platoon: Official Clip - Hell Is the Impossibility of Reason

1:30

Platoon: Official Clip - Dance!

2:04

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Synopsis

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

Director: Oliver Stone
Producer: Arnold Kopelson
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone
Distributor: Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Hemdale Film Corporation [us]
Rating: R
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 19, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $138.5M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround