A troop of marines go through basic training as they prepare for service in Vietnam. Then they go to Vietnam.

"My only complaint with this movie was the distasteful images of men having their heads shaved at the start. This is my worst nightmare, much worse than the killings that inevitably followed later. A shocking horror-filled tale, a feel awful movie, although the soundtrack is on my Christmas list."

"The fat guy was not really trying in my opinion, thank goodness he shot himself before the second half."

"Beaten up by soap, that's a new one."

"Had I ever been beaten by soap like that I would have cried all night in the dorm. Then I would have continued crying the night after and so on until the entire troop died of sleep denial. I am a cow like that."

"The speech patterns used in the toilet scene, reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Was this a left over part of the script that Stanley could not fit in? Such a shame the restraints of gravity prevented that scene's use in 2001 - urinating openly in space was never dealt with much to my chagrin."

"A marine wearing a CND badge? - superb."

"Whenever I see a person lying dead on screen I always look closely for movement. I know it can be annoying for others when I speculate openly about whether he is really dead or just acting, but I enjoy it almost as much as eating crunchy chocolates."

A group of snipers in Vietnam have the troop in a corner, their situation seems serious. One of the soldiers mutinies. He runs into the danger zone to help two fallen soldiers. He stops the sniping. After his success in stopping the sniping the troops follow him.

The last sniper they find is a woman, she has been injured. She asks to be shot. Our heroes hesitate as they see the enemy as human for the first time...

Oh, Stanley, you metaphor filled curmudgeon! This movie is an opus of resounding war-sense.

The movie is divided into two. In the first half we see our troop being desensitized; being taught to fight. In the second half we see them doing the fighting, and then it all breaks down... Humanity only being restored at the end once the enemy has a face.