Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

jadenator3000 Had I not been with several friends, I would have walked out. All I can say. Awful.

Dominic LeRose Oliver Stone's political war film calculates everything wrong with the Vietnam War perfectly. We follow one solider (Tom Cruise) named Ron Kovic, paralyzed in the Vietnam war who is strongly anti-war and pro-human rights after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for. So many men like this real-life hero have gone through the same emotional and psychical torture from the Civil War to the Iraq War. Oliver Stone raises important political questions about how we treat our veterans, but more importantly, he has us wonder if serving our country with our corrupt government is worth fighting for. With many philosophical questions regarding America and war, Oliver Stone crafts his best film that is an American classic. Tom Cruise gives his strongest and most heartbreaking performance, nailing every detail regarding his complex and demanding role. Cruise doesn't get too Hollywood on us, but rather portrays a struggling man filled with goals and wonder who ends up being driven to a different war, the war for veterans and the democracy of America.

Byron Brubaker (hypathio7) This movie left me shaken and choked up! It pays homage to The Best Years of Our Lives and perhaps some other films about vets returning home. But specifically Best Years, I think, with the shot of Ron Kovic after he has become paralyzed and finally returns to his parents' house staring at his high school wrestling picture in his old room. Harold Russell in Best Years does the exact same thing becoming lost in the old picture from his high school athletics career when he felt he was a whole person. Both of these movies deal with men who have lost some part of themselves and have to discover how to gain strength and courage and acceptance to be a whole man again. By exploring Ron's youth, Born on the Fourth of July shows that the story is really about pressure and failure and confusion and how we deal with those things. This is an epic story with a tremendous supporting cast. It's about a boy who becomes a soldier, a soldier who becomes paralyzed, a paraplegic who becomes an outcast all the while searching for his humanity!! Sometimes it takes an outcast to speak the truth, someone who has been paralyzed to really stand for something, a soldier to fight for life, and of course it's the natural progression of things for a boy to triumphantly become a man!

dworldeater Originally conceived as a film collaboration between director William Freidkin and actor Al Pacino in 1978, but for whatever reason the studio pulled out and abandoned the project. After the success of Platoon, writer/director Oliver Stone kept his promise to Ron Kovic that if he ever broke as a director he would make his film. Born On The Fourth Of July is the story of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic and spans three decades(50's, 60's and 70's). From his youth as all American boy who joined the Marines to fight communism in Vietnam to his life at home as a veteran paralyzed from the waist down. Charlie Sheen was originally cast by Oliver Stone to play Ron Kovic, but at the last minute Stone chose to cast Tom Cruise instead. This caused a rift between Sheen and Stone and they did not talk or work together for many years. In my opinion Charlie would have been great, but the film would be different also. As much as the film is about Ron Kovic coming to terms with his injury and changing his thoughts about the war, it also is about how poorly the veterans got treated when they came home. I would also say it has a lot to say about how polarized American society was about the war. Most of Ron Kovic's experiences were horrible and Oliver Stone did not shy away from that one bit as it would diminish the impact of the film. Born On The Fourth Of July has one of Tom Cruise's finest performances and Oliver Stone won his second Oscar for best director. There also are cameos from Platoon's cast , most notably Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. Great movie in my opinion, thumbs up for sure.