Oliver Stone tells a story of his personal involvement in Vietnam during the late 1960's, much of the film drawn from his own experiences.   With that, we can get much truth in the film both in the personalities involved, but also of the interactions of soldiers involved.  Those interactions are carried out very believably by Sheen, Berenger, Dafoe and the others.  Some of the imagery is haunting; Vietnamese soldiers ambushing in the jungles, U.S. treatment of locals; the graphic nature of the fights and language.  All these made the film very real and unforgettable.  On top of that, the cinematography and editing while decent, weren't as astonishing as in Apocalypse Now.

  But on the contrary, while the acting and direction were good and the overall movie was good, I was never drawn in to the story, because there was no pressing story to drive the film. Instead, we were treated to men being soldiers and doing what they did, which works, but doesn't drive a film the way the underlying mission in Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan drove the film forward. Here all that drives the story is the fact they're soldiers and taking orders, but nothing compelling to the audience to draw us into their story too. A good film characterizing what war can do to a man and men. Compelling duality piece, but not as engaging as others. 7.5/10.