Larry Verburg

I’m not sure why the film got such bad reviews; I enjoyed it thoroughly. The film is not Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, or Saving Private Ryan, but that’s okay with me. There’s enough reality in the film to bring back the the fear and excitement of the late 1960s and the mood of the country, with peace marches on Washington, DC and the Pentagon, led by people such as the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary and the writer Norman Mailer. The film got that spot-on. How accurate is the portrayal of military life in Vietnam? From what I’ve heard and been told, it’s accurate enough. The ample dark comedy helps because without it, the horror would creep in. And I think the film has enough violence to need comic relief. The acting was excellent, Zack Efron was believable as Chickie, and I was glad to see again Russel Crowe, who plays a war correspondent for Look Magazine.