Hell for Two and a Half Hours

Francis Ford Coppola, the well acclaimed director of the Godfather, tells a tale that welcomes audiences to an unknown hell, the Vietnam War. The film Apocalypse Now is a journey of the human psyche. The story follows the character Captain Benjamin L. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, as he embarks on a mission to kill the Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Cambodia for his unethical behavior and actions. Captain Willard is introduced to audience as a drunken man who has already seen war and is ready for the second round. The films starts with a very eerie feel as helicopters race by the camera and slowly fade shots of Captain Willard in his hotel room looking at a ceiling fan. He is given a letter stating he will be going on a mission to kill an exceptionally intelligent and a highly ranked individual, played by Marlon Brando. A majority of the film takes place on a boat traveling down the rivers of Vietnam. The characters throughout a majority of the film are very dynamic with personalities that grow throughout the course of the film. The movie does a very good job showing how different squadrons fight or how soldier can lose their minds in war. Even though the film may seem to drag on at points, the sections of the plot that show the psyche of the human mind make the film worth seeing. The script is very well crafted in a film noir narration that can be examined on multiple levels. Lastly, Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen give the performances of a life time with their strong grasps on their characters. Join the men who fought in this war in Apocalypse Now.