Stone strikes out with ìBorn on the Fourth of Julyî
Jim Heald
Production manager

 I had been disappointed with the Vietnam film ìPlatoon,î though it had its share of realism, complementing books I had read.

 With this strike already against director Oliver Stone, I went to see ìBorn on the Fourth of July,î based on the book by Ron Kovic, a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam.

 The movei had few things going for it. The combat scenes were excellently filmed, depicing the confusion a soldier might experience during a battle. I assume they were true to an actual combat situation.

 The most powerful scene included the graphic images of a MASH trauma ward, filled with the wounded, the dying and a chaplain telling Kovic (Tom Cruise) to ìstay aliveî while he administers last rites.

 Cruise does a good job living up to the ìJohn Wayneî image that Kovic believed in, resulting in crippling war injuries. Cruiseís performance shines, in fact, during those film moments when he tries to walk again, something the doctors say he will never do.

 Kovic came home in a wheelchair and tried to remain optimistic about the war, but as he discovered peopleís attitudes toward the war he lost faith in his country and even in his God, eventualy joining the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in their protests.

 ìFourth of Julyîs message is filled with all the standard anti-war, anti-government cliches found in other Vietnam era movies, nor did it handle those cliches as well as Stanley Kubrickís ìFull Metal Jacket,î which used strong visual statements about teh stupidity of war and avoided useless dialogue.

 Stoneís new movie attempts to capture one manís story during a troubling time, but it is boring instead of touching. I left the theater feeling no emotion for Cruiseís character and wished I could get a refund.