A moving anti-war drama based on the true story. So what's it all about? The film follows Kovic's (Tom Cruise) journey from a patriotic young man who volunteers for the Marines to a disillusioned anti-war activist. After being paralyzed in the Vietnam War, Kovic has to grapple with physical and emotional trauma, ultimately rejecting the values he once held dear before becoming a vocal critic of the war. A stand ot performance by Cruise. Directed by Oliver Stone's so you know its not hiding away from any troupes to be politically safe. While it does have a clear anti war messge it is fascinating to watch from the perspective of those that were on both sides of the human cost of the conflict.

Cruise isn't quite right for this role. He's too pretty at this point in his career, and even when Ron Kovic is at rock bottom all I can see is Tom Cruise wearing a mustache and wig. But he gives it everything he's got, and his natural intensity makes the protest sequences towards the end of the film sing. Oliver Stone directs the hell out of this. From the over-the-top Americana of Kovic's childhood, to the lethal chaos of Vietnam, to Ron Kovic rallying his fellow veteran protestors to charge the police in Miami, it's a movie that's dripping with heart and soul.