Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Perfectly adorable

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

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

Is there any just war? A question that can be present in this movie. A war fought 20,000 kms away from one's country might be patriotic? A war fought only for political, economic or ideological reasons can be just? An American young man is deeply patriotic and imbued with all the conventional values concerning war, joins voluntarily the Marine Force and goes to Vietnam as a sergeant. After being wounded in combat he becomes quadriplegic and returns home on a wheelchair after having spent some time in a hospital for veterans where conditions are appallingly bad even with rats running freely around. Anyway he is still defending those patriotic conventional values for what he thinks he had fought in war. However after meeting a girl whom he knew in their youth and whom he loved and seeing her being a member of an activist group against American fighting in Vietnam and seeing the police charging them violently he begins to take conscience of the real injustice of that war. After several vicissitudes of moral degradation that include a familiar conflict at home, alcoholism and an exile to a home for veterans in Mexico by a village where there is an atmosphere of alcohol, gambling and prostitution, he abandons all this and returns to USA where he joins the activist movement against war and publishes a book with his autobiography. Everything is narrated with great image and dialogue realism. The only flaw in my opinion is the not so good performance of Tom Cruise whom I never considered a very good actor and seems not very authentic, abusing some times of histrionic hysterism. Anyway a movie that can be considered a strong libel not only against the Vietnam war but against all wars.

Exactly 25 years ago today, I went to my normal, daily summer routine of watching everything and anything in the theatres. Mostly dollar cinemas – yeah, when they actually were a dollar, since I never had any real funds. Luckily, this movie was still playing and I thought so appropriate that I would see this on the Fourth of July. But, unluckily, the film broke half-way through the feature and we were all given free passes to return. I never did. Well, at least to this movie.Not that I didn't like it. I was actually getting into it. But, I had other movies to watch. Then, it obviously came to home video, but I never got around to it. Coincidentally, I chose the quarter of a century anniversary for me to finally return to it and finish it once and for all.I'm glad I did. It was an extremely well-made movie and far ahead of its time with its dealing with PTSD and a country divided. Yeah, this dealt with the Vietnam War, but, it fits events today as well. Cruise, who oddly enough was ALMOST born on the Fourth of July (7/3/62,) was excellent and it was heartbreaking what happened to the real-life character he played. Sadly, America's head got way too big from the WWs, and even though Korea was a bust, there was still enough patriotism to fool more men to go fight a no-win war. Thankfully, there were protesters, or people who stood up and questioned what was force-fed us.I'm getting a little political here, or, more accurately, anti- political, but that's this movie. I just happen to agree with it. Miserably, a lot of the same politics play today with more brainwashing and mercifully, there are still people who will stand up against the fear mongers. I digress. Very good movie and you shouldn't wait 25 years to see this. See it now.

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.