Another Brian De Palma movie, another bludgeoning. Or stabbing. Or body-drilling. Whatever -- as long as the victim's a woman. In "Casualties of War," the savaged female this time is a Vietnamese village girl dragged along for "portable R&R" by American GIs, then raped repeatedly, stabbed and shot.

Casualties of War will probably go down as the most underrated war movie ever. Maybe it isn't as good as Saving Private Ryan or Full Metal Jacket, but Casualties of War really isn't far behind it. What makes this hated by some it its subject matter, but in some cases you have to look past what is happening and apply the general circumstances to other things that may happen in other places. Do this with Casualties of War, and you see exactly why it is so good.Michael J Fox abandons his comedic charm as Private Ericsson, a newcomer in the Vietnam War. Some people say that Fox was wrongfully cast and ones that did not see this were unsure of how he could pull off such a serious role. He may not be funny, but he is still like a little like he was in Family Ties. The role of Ericsson needed to be a young underdog, so casting Michael J Fox was good. As a newcomer to war, Ericsson quickly sees how scary battles can be. Luckily, his loyal platoon has his back 100%. The leader of the platoon is the insane Sgt. Meserve, played disturbingly well by Sean Penn. Most war movies focus on how war changes people for the worse, ultimately turning them into sadistic killing machines. Meserve and some other members of the platoon personify the different levels of this, ranging from scared to animalistic. Just as Ericsson begins to question why he is there, the platoon kidnap the most beautiful woman in a Vietnamese village and aspire to use her as their sex slave. Ericsson and Diaz (John Leguizamo) want no part of it, but Ericsson is the only one willing to stand up to his men. The rape is briefly shown, but all the implications and extreme fear in the girl makes the movie disturbing enough. Ericsson is bullied for his refusal and he eventually tries to help her escape. It eventually leads to her extremely brutal death that is heartbreaking. Ericsson is haunted by the events and is determined to prosecute the men that protected him but murdered her. Yes, the movie deals with a soldier trying to stop rape. I saw it as a young man who was faced with a dilemma to stay loyal to the men that protect him and his own country, yet preventing such barbaric acts. It is about a man who must go against the crowd for his own principles. The torn loyalty could be applied to many different real-life situations, not just war.

Michael J Fox proves his versatility in "casualties of war". Before this, I had only seen him in back to the future, so I was amazingly surprised at how manly he was in this. Even his height didn't let him down! He was such a man! I have to admit though Sean Penn was sexier but Michael J fox topped him because of his personality. Even though justice was served in the end, this is a depressing film. By the end of it I did feel sad. Even MJF's bubbly personality didn't cheer me up. It is quite thought provoking though, when you lose hope in thinking there are no decent men in the world anymore, this film proves you wrong. There are a lot of evil guys but there are also nice guys too.

Kudos to Brian de Palma for making this brave movie. There aren't many movies that show war crimes by U.S. soldiers. Most Vietnam war movies focus on the impact of the war on the U.S. soldiers. The effect on civilians in Vietnam is often too painful and unpopular to deal with. It is a movie that shows Vietnam as tragedy for everyone involved not just the combatants. The true story of the rape and murder of a Vietnamese farm girl and it's exposure by a soldier who refused to take part is shown in a straightforward and unflinchingly direct way. The rape and murder itself is beyond heartbreaking. Yet the story isn't one sided. It shows the perpetrators being in such a horrid situation that allowed something like this to happen. The movie shows the difficulties and consequences of being a whistle blower - how relevant today.Michael J Fox gives a very moving and sympathetic performance showing he is a fine dramatic actor. My initial misgivings of him as being mainly a comedic actor were quickly dispelled. Sean Penn gives a totally believable performance as the idiotic sergeant in charge. The Vietnamese actress Thuy Thu Le's performance is so good that it's almost too painful to watch.This movie isn't as famous as it should be and deserves a place among the most powerful and well acted war movies of all time.