If you review according to accuracy, you would have to give this a 2 or 3 at the most. BUT, the film is excellent. Tom Cruise won me over with this role. The boy can really act ! He was absolutely brilliant and I don't think he has matched this performance to this date in any other film.

The story is moving and at times disturbing when faced with the reality of a young man trying to live and deal with severe injuries aswell as his Vietnam experiences.

A brilliant film which does not deserve to be panned due to it's obvious historical flaws.


Better Than Platoon   October 26, 1999
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Although many call this movie flawed and inaccurate, I consider it Oliver Stone's best film. I am a huge fan of all of his work (except for Platoon which I found boring and almost completely taken from Apocalypse Now). This film breaks the prototypical mold of Vietnam films (especially his own) and shows the entire feel of the historical era of which he is so well apt. No, this film is not entirely accurate and I don't believe it's meant to be. When you watch an Oliver Stone film you are transported into a noirish vision of our world through the eyes of a visual stylist and fellow man himself.


An Extremely Powerful Motion Picture Experience.   October 17, 1999
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Oliver Stone is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, this can be seen in his masterpieces like "JFK," "Nixon," and "Natural Born Killers," but it's also extremely seen in this gem of a movie. "Born On The Fourth Of July" is powerful, moving, well-filmed and extremely well-acted. This is the document of one man's voyage through hell and beyond. The chronicle of Ron Kovic's amazing struggle after being wounded in Vietnam. This is also a study of how the heroism of war seen in other movies or advertised at times by the military itself, can be blinding. Like in "Platoon," Stone captures the horror of war here, and the impact it can leave in one's mind. This movie is realistic, moving, and powerful. I was nearly moved to tears. Ron Kovic is one of the best written screen characters of all time. Oliver Stone is a genius of cinema who understands the emotional, dramatic as well as visual qualities of this film. The Oscar he won as Best Director for this film is rightly deserved. "Born On The Fourth Of July" is a triumph! One of the decade's most powerful movies. I highly recommend it. It understands and respects it's subject.


Typical Oliver Stone fantasy and propaganda   September 8, 1999
 10 out of 23 found this review helpful

While Tom Cruise does an excellent job, given such a poor script, Oliver Stone's liberal fantasies ruin this movie. The facts are historically inaccurate, rearranged to fit Mr. Stone's version of reality.