Casualties of War (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Lucas M

  
  A scary and tense war film.

• Graham J

  
  DePalma's epic war film explores the dark sides of men in combat and features many outstanding performances.

• Jeff "

  
  Based on an actual incident during the Vietnam War, Casualties Of War is the shocking true story of four men who raped and murdered a Vietnamese girl. The film stars Michael J. Fox as Pfc Eriksson, the new recruit in Vietnam who witnesses the crime. Sean Penn stars as Sgt Meserve, the… More
  Based on an actual incident during the Vietnam War, Casualties Of War is the shocking true story of four men who raped and murdered a Vietnamese girl. The film stars Michael J. Fox as Pfc Eriksson, the new recruit in Vietnam who witnesses the crime. Sean Penn stars as Sgt Meserve, the antagonist of the film and he gives one brutal performance here, I thought it was very chilling. Eriksson seeks to report the matter to his superiors, but none seem to care. Meanwhile Meserve orders one of the men who participated in the rape to kill Eriksson, but he escapes. Eriksson soon talks about the incident to a superior who is also a priest. The military takes action against the men, and they get a harsh sentence. This is a film that came out during the height of the Vietnam war film craze of the late 80's, but it seems to be forgotten. Casualties Of War is a good film, but it's definitely one of the weaker Vietnam War films to come out in this period. The film is no Platoon or Full Metal Jacket. The film started off very promising, but it kind of ended flat. The film feels almost unfinished and I think the ending could have been better, sure the criminals get punished, but the filmmakers could have done something a bit more solid than the ending on the bus. However the film aside from the ending has a two things going for it, Ennio Morricone's solid score and Brian Depalma's near flawless directing. Casualties Of War is a good war drama, but its the best out there, at times the script feels strained and it seems that they tried to make nearly every seen very overly sentimental, more than they needed to be. But this is still a film worth watch, hard to watch, but good nonetheless. The biggest problem with the film is that it tries too hard to imitating the Vietnam War film greats by overdoing the drama. A good film, but not one of the best Vietnam War films.

• Cassie H

  
  The story of an actual incident that happened in Vietnam on October 18, 1969 of four soldiers who raped & murdered an innocent Vietnamese girl & how one soldier, Eriksson (played very well by Michael J. Fox) didn't participate & rightfully turned in the responsible.… More
  The story of an actual incident that happened in Vietnam on October 18, 1969 of four soldiers who raped & murdered an innocent Vietnamese girl & how one soldier, Eriksson (played very well by Michael J. Fox) didn't participate & rightfully turned in the responsible. Very good movie replication of this event in accurate detail. This movie is not for those with a weak stomach, so if rape & murder bother you don't watch this but if it doesn't watch to see this bad stuff over in third world countries that is still going on in our world today. Excellent acting by Michael J. Fox in his role as a serious soldier.

• Conner R

  
  I think that it’s probably the worst war movie that came from the Movie Brats, but it’s not a bad film by any stretch. The poor acting from Michael J. Fox really brings the feel of the movie down, as well as the cheesy dialogue. I think Sean Penn was phenomenal and perhaps the… More
  I think that it’s probably the worst war movie that came from the Movie Brats, but it’s not a bad film by any stretch. The poor acting from Michael J. Fox really brings the feel of the movie down, as well as the cheesy dialogue. I think Sean Penn was phenomenal and perhaps the greatest element of the film, he brings psychopath to an entirely new level. What I liked most was the overall message about war and soldiers in general. I think that Brian De Palma really didn’t have much to work with, but still managed to make an above average war film.

• Randy T

  
  Stunning performances from Sean Penn (as expected) and Michael J. Fox (completely unexpected). An underrated and disturbing Vietnam war film based on actual events.

• Anthony L

  
  An underrated war film with an impressive cast.

• xGary X

  
  When a group of soldiers in Vietnam on long patrol kidnap, rape and murder a village girl, new recruit Michael J. Fox finds no-one will listen when he tries to report the crime to his superiors. Casualties Of War is a shocking story that is based on true events and Fox's attempt… More
  When a group of soldiers in Vietnam on long patrol kidnap, rape and murder a village girl, new recruit Michael J. Fox finds no-one will listen when he tries to report the crime to his superiors. Casualties Of War is a shocking story that is based on true events and Fox's attempt to become a "serious" actor. It is well meaning, and Thuy Thu Le puts in a heart breaking performance as the victim but the film as a whole does not quite work. De Palma does not have the subtlety or sensitivity to do the material justice and although Fox tries his best, he does not have the dramatic range to convince in the main role. The other characters are pretty much all very familiar stereotypical grunts and the dialogue feels forced and unnatural. The contrived and cornball ending certainly doesn't help either. It's a nice try at representing a situation where all sense of right and wrong seems at odds with an everyday reality that consists of murder and death but I feel it would have been better served in different hands and it lacks the necessary intensity of some of the better Vietnam war based films.

• Pierluigi P

  
  A touching Vietnam movie. Big in scope and range, thanks to De Palma's bold cinematic tricks, Stephen Burum's cinematography and Ennio Morricone's score, which, as a matter of fact, is not one of his best, but it works. I don't agree with people that say Michael J.… More
  A touching Vietnam movie. Big in scope and range, thanks to De Palma's bold cinematic tricks, Stephen Burum's cinematography and Ennio Morricone's score, which, as a matter of fact, is not one of his best, but it works. I don't agree with people that say Michael J. Fox was miscast, I think his childish 'eternally young' looks served him in this contained, human, agonizing performance; and Sean Penn was as amazing as he always is when he plays profoundly immoral characters.

• Ross C

  
  Hard-hitting war flick telling the story of a group of soldiers who kidnap and rape a Vietnamese girl. Too slow at times for me.

• Bobby H

  
  Good movie for 1989. I think they did a good job at showing that not everyones worth praise, and that Americans, as great as our country is, can do wrong. I think the movie had balls, to put it out.

• Michael S

  
  Overlooked war film. Powerful performances by Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn.

• Dean M

  
  Director Brian De Palma's full-blown portrayal of the horrors of war is terrifying and audacious.

• James A

  
  Alex P. Keaton finally goes off to war to where he realizes that raping helpless woman isnt all that great.

• Naughtia N

  
  This movie is about a group of American soldiers involved in the Vietnam War. During this war a young girl gets taken from her village by 5 American soldiers,she ends up getting raped and killed. One of the soldiers (Michael J. Fox) is disgusted by these doings and wants justice to be… More
  This movie is about a group of American soldiers involved in the Vietnam War. During this war a young girl gets taken from her village by 5 American soldiers,she ends up getting raped and killed. One of the soldiers (Michael J. Fox) is disgusted by these doings and wants justice to be done. This is a fantasic war movie which affects you in a very powerful way. This movie is based on a true story and that makes the story even scarier.

• Doctor S

  
  MJF in a rare dramatic role is about the only good reason to check this out.

• Wu C

  
  Decent war film plays mostly as a morality tale. Good performances and score to boot.

• Leo L

  
  A great movie!

• Sarah P

  
  An excellent cast portrays a horrible war crime.

• Haley A

  
  This movie is amazing! This is why I love MJF!!!!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings