Even in war... murder is murder.

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Patrick Harvey, John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Thuy Thu Le, Erik King, Jack Gwaltney

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"You think you're sayin' no to ME? You ain't hotshot enough to be sayin' no to me..." - Sgt. Meserve

Why watch this? The make up of many U.S. platoons in Vietnam were young boys with no guidance and poor leadership.

Plot Summary: A young soldier in Vietnam witnesses his squad commit a horrific war crime, the gang rape of a Vietnamese girl. He faces an agonizing moral dilemma as he decides whether to report the crime and risk alienation from his fellow soldiers or remain silent.

Dad's Preview: On patrol in Vietnam, Army platoon leaders had complete control over those in their charge. This film chronicles what happens when that leader is a sadistic bully, and one of buddies is killed in action. Ahab is thus born, and his vengeance is taken out on all Vietcong, be they soldiers or civilians. When PFC Eriksson questions the tyrant's actions, all hell breaks loose. This brutal film is unsettling. It is hard to watch young soldiers becoming everything America should fight against. Fox's performance is note-worthy, but Sean Penn, as the horrid Sgt. Meserve, is hard to forget.

Art Linson; Columbia Pictures