In the field, the new recruits struggle to adjust to platoon life. Chris accomplishes this when he blows Barnes away. CHRIS: And you, do you believe? Unlike Elijah, however, he was not successful in his goals. Ultimately, Platoonis about survival and legacy. Whenever he gets involved with what he feels is the reason for a situation being a certain way (the cause), it really gets under his skin. Barnes in an act of revenge for Elias and for himself. When you know you know. There are many illustrations of Chris doing throughout the film, however, the sequence where he and his platoon ravage a Vietnamese village illustrates Chris engaging in activities contrary to his essential nature. By the end of the film, Chris moral integrity has deteriorated to the point where he is able to kill Sgt. The young Lieutenant Wolfe, who has not proven himself in war yet, illustrates unproven as the problem in several situations. CHRIS: Yever get caught in a mistake King and you just cant get out of it? Remember what it looks like. Fortunately for Sheen's character, though, he can at least walk. The enormous loss of lives sustained in the last battle clearly indicates the U.S. militarys failure in making progress in the Vietnam War. Who killed Elias in platoon? (Film). Out here assholes, ya keep your shit wired tight at all times! (Stone, p. 65), In Platoon, Writer-director Oliver Stone drops us as he drops his autobiographical 19-year-old, Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), into life with the 25th Infantry in Vietnam. CHRIS: Proofs in his eyes. Just keep your pecker up and your powder dry, things change. Instead of finding something to be proud of, Chris leaves Vietnam having become dehumanized and morally corrupt. The conflict ends with Barnes ready to kill Taylor, an inexperienced soldier who seemingly doesn't pose a major threat to his standing within the U.S. Army. Elias's RTO.Pvt Ace (WIA): Gets shrapnel wound from short round, Barnes digs it out of him. ONeill spits in the dust, a freckled, short red head with a hard worried face, a lifer, 30 going on 60. Edit. Barnes blames it on the way the men acted, and he gives them a lecture on how they need to be and act when they are on a nighttime ambush: Shortly thereafter, Sandersen and Sal are killed by a booby trap in an abandoned Viet Cong compound, and Manny is abducted, killed, and mutilated by the enemy, and left strung up on a tree trunk for the platoon to find. Barnes challenge to kill him to avenge Elias murder, Barnes feels the men are weak and dont have the heart to stand up for their beliefs. Lyrics here.playing when Chris smokes marijuana with Elias and his crew in their bunker? His naivete is quickly dissipated by the stark realities of his environment. In Platoon, Stone suggests that Taylor kills Barnes because of various factors, with the most obvious being that Taylor himself is now an unforgiving killer, a man forced to extremes in the heat of war. The day after suffering its most severe casualties, the platoon and several companies are sent right back into the same enemy-saturated area. Susanna", written by Stephen Collin Foster in 1847 or 1848. During Platoons climax, Willem Dafoes Sgt Elias is chased and fired upon by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops. Chris proves to himself he can soldier as well as any man; what he doesnt bargain on is the experience of killing in cold blood. You've reached the "hub" for any and all Dramatica analysis of Platoon. First, and most importantly, Taylor kills Barnes. When George C. Scott delivered his tour de Operation Desert Storm officially began on January 17, Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! Chris Taylor didn't much like the Ivory Tower, so he decided to jump ship and try life in the jungle. Sgt. But rather than checking on the injured, Francis deliberately plunges a knife into his leg. People like Elias get wasted and people like Barnes just go on making up rules any way they want and what do we do, we just sit around in the middle and suck on it! (Stone, p. 95) Originally uses M16 later inherits Tex's M60.Pvt Fu Sheng (KIA): Killed by a short round. Barnes is the antithesis of Hamlet. I saw his eyes when he came back in Check outLarry Kings YouTube video below to hear Willem Dafoe retell the story of filming the epic scene. They seek direction and guidance for the way they need to function in order to stay alive in Vietnam. BARNES: Elias is like them politicians in Washington. He is no longer a naive, idealistic, young boy who was looking for a great adventure to make him a man, he has come to realize, and take part of, the atrocities and numbing reality of the Vietnam War. S.SGT Barnes or Sgt. You were there Rhah - I know what you were thinking. Barnes holds no value for civilian life in Vietnam and almost seems to value Sgt. Progress for the platoon is in a very grim state. Barnes says, Do it! and without thinking, Chris shoots and kills Sgt. Want to fight this war with one hand tied round their balls. CHRIS: Not just me its the way the whole thing works. The platoon gets caught in an enemy ambush, and the Viet Cong causes the platoon to suffer serious casualties. Barnes shoots and murders Elias when the two are alone in the jungle. This provokes Chris to attack Barnes, signifying that Chris does stand for something, and he honors the beliefs and ideals that Elias stood for. However, by the end of the film, we sense that Chris doesnt still hold to the same basic ideals as when he first arrived in Vietnam. Barnes and Sgt. KING: How the fuck you get over here man, you look like you educated Early in the film, its clear that Sgt. | He had some trouble with the law, his vision went to sh*t, and he changed his name to Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn. During the filming of Sgt Elias death in Platoon, Dafoe had little contact with the other members of the cast and crew. KING: Way out of anything, man. The war has exposed him to its dehumanizing qualities, and the insensitive depths to which the spirit of men can sink as a result. Sanderson either ignored this rule or felt that because he'd been able to open the box that it wasn't booby-trapped (as often the explosives are set to detonate when opening the box). He is also seen sitting next to the guy (Tubbs): who's throwing a knife into the ground, just before scene where Barnes, O'Neil and others are playing cards.Pvt Tony (WIA): Shot while defending CP bunker, then seen waving to Taylor at end. Elias takes Chrisand two other men to intercept flanking enemy troops. Lieutenants lead most platoons, and the second-in-command is generally a sergeant first class. In one scene, Barnes is bathed in red light, symbolizing the evil within. Bob Barnes is the main antagonist of Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War film Platoon. Its a war where there seems to be no master plan, no big picture and no advances. Why does Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) call Barnes and Elias his "fathers" during the final monologue. Since Chris has just arrived to the platoon and has no past experience of fighting and surviving in jungle combat, he has no memories he can draw upon to serve him in the current situation. Barnes has shot and murdered Sgt. O'Neil's RTO.Pvt Big Harold (WIA): Has leg blown off by booby trap.Crawford (WIA): Surfer dude. Hawaiian kid, seen lighting building in village scene. Chris is obviously opposed to, and appalled by, Sgt. There are many times when Barnes views Taylor as a hindrance and liability to the platoon, and he ultimately tries to kill him. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. Momentarily losing control of his senses, Chris fires his gun at the feet of a retarded village man. The ending of Platoon suggests that Elias and Barnes are symbolic of good and evil forces that fight for the soul of Taylor. Barnes demands that no one in the platoon, including Chris, is to fall asleep on his shift. Barnes and Sgt. Chris presumes Barnes killed Elias as if it were a fact. Edit, Yes, and it's probably a composite of several of them. ONEILL: Shit! Insufficiency, inadequacy, deficient to the purpose are ways to look at the term non-accurate. Did Elias die in platoon? Barnes conceives of killing Chris as a means of eliminating anyone whos a threat of implicating him in the murder of Elias. Just keep your pecker up and your powder dry, things change. "Looking back," he says, "We did not fight the enemy. They drove me crazy with their goddamn world, Grandma, you know Mom, I dont want to be a white boy on Wall Street, I dont want my whole life to be predetermined by them. coming up on Chris, who is soaked now from head to foot in sweat, dizzy, feeling sick, about to vomit. Barnes tells Elias he is moving out, and then he tells O'Neill his short termers can stay in; but he is going out because he needs veterans out there. Aint no time or need for a courtroom out here(Stone, p. 60). Yall know about killing? During the run, however, some went off, while others failed, although viewers were unaware of this. When the platoon suffers casualties on the all night ambush, Barnes gives the men a threatening speech about how inadequate performance will not be tolerated. Barnes drive and motivation. Marine veteran Capt. Despite his frustration and anger, there is a line that Chris will not cross when it comes to the human rights of others. There is a lot of speculation whether he lives or dies, confused even more by the fact Depp mentions Lerner dies in a documentary about this movie. Hough is a senior writer at Screen Rant. Do my share for my country. The war forced Chris to experience and do things that hes not proud of at all, like his platoons involvement in the My-Lai-esque pillage and destruction of a Vietnamese village, and the climatic murder of Sgt. Sgt. Platoon's medic.LT. Why? He honors and respects Sgt. But they saw a bloodied Sgt. Tonight. For most of the movie, Taylor has remained above the fray, so to speak. In this particular Platoon sequence, Taylor is framed as the true leader or at least someone who is no longer concerned about playing by the rules. Elias. The light of the moon. Chris is thematically focused on understanding how to apply what he knows. He relies on his knowledge of war to react and perform quickly. Barnes is a callous soldier, hardened from several tours of duty in the Nam. Horrible scars carved into his face physically suggest the experiences he has seen. Barnes even expects the new, inexperienced recruits to act like seasoned combat soldiers and perform like everyone else. 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