What a film. Act 1 felt like a typical war film, albeit a little darker and less driving. Act 2, however, took the cake. I'm disappointed that Marlon Brando was only in about 30-45 minutes of the film because his performance is one of the best acting performances I've ever seen; easily top 5. Everything his character said brimmed with profundity, philosophy, and just a bit of insanity. This is a film I need to rewatch sometime, especially Act 2.
Honestly, it was much less disturbing and dark than I was expecting, based on what I had heard from others. I mean, it is a war movie (in a sense), so there'll be no daffodils or daisies. And it's also a film exploring the nature of man through a story about a soldier seeking out an insane general in order to assassinate him. Maybe the dead bodies being hung all over the village or the severed heads scattered throughout the front hill have yet to really seep into my mind and show how truly mad Colonel Kurtz (Brando) was. Again, this is a film I need to watch at least once more.
The rest of the performances were good too, though none as good as Brando's. Martin Sheen carried his role well throughout the film, despite some characters who I feel were unnecessary to the plot (Lance, the acid tripping soldier, and Clean, the foul-mouthed chatter box who, although played by Laurence "Larry" Fishbourne, was more annoying than relevant to the plot).
Aside from 100 or so f-words and some other R-rated language, the film wasn't a very hard R rating. The violence was somewhat tame in comparison to such films as First Blood (Rambo) and The Godfather, which I have yet to see but will hopefully watch the entire trilogy very soon. Yes, there were some violent scenes throughout the movie. One major one being at the end when the villagers kill a real water buffalo with machetes.
Overall, a good movie that is elevated to greatness once Marlon Brando, aka Colonel Kurtz, enters the picture. Definitely a movie I want to watch again.
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