Where would we be without Chris Taylor? He's pretty much the only way we can make sense of all the crazy violence, chaos, and pain that makes its way across the screen over the course of Platoon. S...

Think of Sergeant Elias as the like angel on Taylor's soldier (which makes Barnes the devil). Both Elias and Barnes battle for Taylor's "soul," as Taylor says at the end of the film. In many ways,...

"I am reality," a drunk Sergeant Barnes exclaims shortly after he's just finished killing Elias in the jungle. Say, what? But you know what? He's kinda right. He is reality—the reality that the V...

Lieutenant Wolfe is the guy in charge. Sort of.On paper, he's the boss, but he rarely acts like it. This is partly because of Barnes's superior knowledge and skill set, and the men's loyalty to him...

O'Neill talks a big game throughout the film. Such a big game, in fact, we don't blame you if you're a bit sick of him by the time that final battle rolls around. He's a close compadre of Barnes, a...

"You's a killer Bunny," says Junior during one scene. And that's putting it lightly. The guy is pretty much a psycho, and for a lot of reasons. But that's to anticipate matters. We don't know for s...

Junior isn't the most individualized of characters, and in a lot of ways he's a type—a representative for something else: the platoon's African American members. Junior only appears in a handful...

Here's a question. Rhah: more man, or more myth?Rhah is another minor character in the film, albeit one who sometimes seems more mythical than real. He's the first guy to greet Taylor in the Underw...