Casualties of War (1989) ** 1/2 (out of 4)During the Vietnam War a solder, Eriksson (Michael J. Fox), goes out with a crew of four led by a rather psychotic Sgt. Meserve (Sean Penn). After the five are rejected on a leave Meserve kidnaps a Vietnemese woman who they plan on raping. Eriksson is against their action and soon finds himself at the four's wrath but things get even more heated once he plans to help press charges against them.Brian De Palma's CASUALTIES OF WAR was just one of many Vietnam movies from about an eleven year period where all sorts of them were coming out. COMING HOME and THE DEER HUNTER kicked things off and then you got stuff like APOLALYPSE NOW, PLATOON and Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET. De Palma has stated that he believes his film is among the best made but I'd argue that it's the least entertaining.There are all sorts of issues that I have with this film but the biggest is that De Palma just isn't working too well in the drama department. One of my issues with the film was the music score that is just over-bearing at times as it's often very loud as if they're trying to put certain emotions into the viewer. The track is just too intrusive and I'd argue that it does more damage than good as it pretty much beats the viewer over the head trying to get them to "feel" a certain way.Another problem I had with the picture was the performance by Fox. He gives a good performance but at the same time I just didn't believe him in the role and I didn't think he was strong enough to carry the picture. It's been said that him being cast is the only thing that got the movie made, which I believe but I just don't think he helped the movie. Penn is also quite good here, although I do think his character gets a bit too cartoonish at times. The supporting cast includes fine performances by Don Harvey, John Leguizamo, John C. Reilly, Ving Rhames and Dale Dye.De Palma certainly knows how to film a movie so the cinematography is top-notch and I'd argue that the rape sequence as well as the trial sequences in the Extended Version are well-done and tense. With that said, a lot of the movie just comes across as flat and that includes the battle sequences, which just aren't all that memorable. CASUALTIES OF WAR was made to show what horrors were in Vietnam but on the whole it isn't nearly as good as it thinks it is.

CASUALTIES of WAR is one of the very best of the late 80s Vietnam films. Being all about the rape and murder of a young Vietnamese girl by U.S. troops, it's understandable why this film produced much controversy and why there are so many quasi-political reasons for liking/disliking it. CASUALTIES of WAR is "based on" something that actually happened, and I'm sure there are some departures from how exactly it all happened. While the critical aspects are obviously factual, I'm appraising this film simply as a drama and will let others quibble about how true or untrue the specifics are.Though he comes across as just a little TOO squeaky-clean, Michael J. Fox is decent in the lead role of Private Eriksson. I've noticed a number of criticisms of Sean Penn's portrayal of young charismatic Sergeant Meserve, but I find him to be an utterly convincing and memorable character and think this is one of Penn's very best performances, which is saying a lot. Those who play the other four soldiers in the understrength squad are similarly real, as are many of the supporting cast, particularly Dale Dye as Captain Hill and Ving Rhames as Lieutenant Reilly. Thuy Thu Le's strong performance as the victim is also noteworthy.Viewed simply as a war film, CASUALTIES of WAR has all the elements that anyone would look for in that genre. Before the pivotal event occurs, there is a lot of gripping combat footage of different types in different locations and situations with all the necessary plot, character development, and sense of place. Fine script too, believably quirky without falling to the stereotypical "soldier-talk" we often encounter in films of this sort. There are also many themes to analyze if you're into it, especially in what this film shows us about the ironies of military "justice." And let's not forget the basic conflict of CASUALTIES of WAR. A crime of this nature can never be justified, of course, but this film does the best that can be done in showing the how and why of it all. Some have objected because they think it makes our troops look bad. It's an unavoidable fact, however, that a number of crimes of this magnitude did in fact occur during the Vietnam War, and they occurred more often than we'd probably like to think. At the same time, I do not think it's ever suggested that all or even most American troops in that war committed acts like the one shown here.Finally, CASUALTIES of WAR has a darkly beautiful ending.

Casualties Of War dramatises a single event from the Vietnam war, where a squad of US soldiers abduct a Vietnamese girl and take her with them on patrol for the purposes of "recreation," raping and eventually killing her. Sean Penn is the leader of the squad and Michael J Fox plays the only member who consistently speaks out against their actions and tries to help the girl, eventually becoming the lone voice which tries to get justice for her.It has been some years since I last watched this film, but simply recalling it for the purpose of writing these words chokes me up: the events of the first part of the film are profoundly disturbing and utterly heartbreaking, and credit to Thuy Thu Le, in her only film role, for portraying victim Oanh with such power and dignity.But credit must also go to Penn for his angry sergeant, shaken free from any moral compass he may once have had, and especially to Fox: his principled everyman shows that he was never the lightweight that his succession of light roles may have suggested.And credit, too, to director Brian De Palma - for once not trying to emulate Hitchcock, he has here produced an accomplished and moving drama which poses profound moral issues and leaves you wondering whether you would have had the courage to make a moral stand.

I like war films when done well. Platoon was fantastic and I'm gonna put Casualties of War right up there with that multi-Oscar winner. That may sound a little haughty from me – but this film is deserving of such an accolade. The story is harrowing, the material itself shocking at times – but the overall result is a masterpiece.I won't go into the plot details here in this review as it has been well covered at this stage but I will go into certain specific elements of the movie.Acting: Fox is fantastic here – never better. Fox is a good actor anyway, we all know that, but I feel he does not get the credit he deserves sometimes. To some he will always be Marty McFly from the BTTF movies (to be honest he will be to me too) but he really puts in a great shift in this flick. His naturalistic, everyman style makes you want to root for him no matter what. He carries the film in my view as the only true upstanding character in the army who sticks by his beliefs no matter what. Actually – the fact that this incident took place in the Vietnam war is a side issue if you ask me – it could have happened anywhere at any time. It is truly about humanity's morality as opposed to being about a war or those who took part in it. But for me – Fox is terrific.Penn is brilliant too. An angry, tobacco chewing 20-year old Sarge – dumped in a world of pain and suffering. You can see his motivations and where the frustrations have caused him to carry out the horrible act in the film. Penn is another brilliant actor in my view – in so far as whenever I see him, I believe he 'is' the character and not just 'acting' as that character. Here is the ultimate proof of his abilities. Some reviewers say that he 'overacts' a little here – but to me it is simply his intensity.The girl who plays the rape victim - Thuy Thu Le - is also terrific. A true testament of finding a talent out there without a background of acting who can turn in a performance amongst the best that Hollywood can offer. It's such a pity that this film was her one and only performance.The rest of the cast varies a little. Erik King as Brownie hams it up a little in a couple of scenes (just look at his facial expressions as the unit walks into a Vietnamese village for pure contortion) but does well in others (when he gets shot). Don Harvey as Clark is a parody of a evil persona within the movie – an OTT performance. John C Reilly is okay. Ving Rhames is okay. Leguizamo is good as the conflicted Diaz. Dale Dye is terrific – intense and totally believable, his one-on-one with Fox superb.Cinematography: De Palma's style runs through this movie like a river. He is a genius. The angles he uses (Fox's chat with Dye), the foreground/background shots (When Fox is traumatized from Brownie's shooting in the foreground and the background shows the villagers helping the VC soldier to escape), the courtroom scene (where we see the accused soldiers one by one and only ever hear the prosecutor), the long tracking shots (Basecamp Wolf) and the superb Leone-like close ups (Fox in the rain) are all beautiful. And there is so much more also – VC tunnels, burned out fields, the kidnapping itself, another background/foreground shot when the girl is stabbed – that are used to tremendous effect. The brutal nature of the story and the action is still magnificently displayed through a masterclass of cinema-making techniques from a truly gifted director.The screenplay, music, production values are all top notch and the story rattles along at a nice pace. This is a movie in which anyone who was remotely involved in it could be extremely proud. Well done all.9/10 – I deducted the point for the sometimes ropy acting of some of the periphery characters and for one emotional speech from Fox which was simply too preachy and overlong.