Born on the Fourth of July is one of the cheesier movies out there. In the beginning there is a line a mother says to her boy with a crazy smile as they are watching TV: "I had a dream, Ronnie, the other night, that you were speaking to a large crowd just like him, just like him, and you were saying great things"! And in the background a wondrous orchestral theme is playing. Now, while that particular line does pay off eventually, it sure feels artificial. Parts of this film are full of pomp and cheese, all for the sake of the anti-war message.
That music keeps on coming back and it is always either the adventurous tune from every children's adventure movie ever or else the saddest tragedy tune, like someone love of their life died. It really affects the mood of the movie and is one of those movie scores that doesn't like to sit in the background. It is persistently noticeable while watching the movie. The music is good on its own, but combined with the screenplay, it becomes a major contributor to that cheesy feeling.
Born on the Fourth of July is as if a hippie tried to do an anti-war movie and tried his to stay respectful, tasteful and reserved. He thinks he is, but he still can't help but push his point in every scene. When foreigners see United States they are often overwhelmed by the nationalistic obsession. Stars and stripes are everywhere. It's all a bit too much and too silly. Born on the Fourth of July maintains the spirit of that obsession, but it just turns the flag upside down in the second part of the film. The film appears to be about Ron Kovic's disillusionment and criticises nationalism, while at the same time feeling very nationalistic to the last moment.
This brings me to another issue related to its pushiness: content variety. Of course, a movie should have a point, but this film is hyper focused on "war is bad". We see the young Kovic of the film being a promising young man and the rest of the film we spend watching the negative effects of war on him. Everything is related to that. Just pick a scene. Is war still bad? Yup, it is still bad. Even in the beginning, before Ron experiences war, the obvious music and themes remind you that war will, in fact, be bad. It is only towards the end of the movie that something more positive and meaningful starts coming through, but this is a long movie, and you have to wait a while for that pay-off.
Born on the Fourth of July makes me appreciate The Thin Red Line more. That is another movie with an anti-war message but it is much more subtle.
Having said that, at least there is a clear message and a good structure to support it. The progression in the main character and the change in his beliefs feels realistic and spread out over the course of the film. The positive side to the movie being so obvious is that it is easy to grasp. Raw and dirty scenes may be forced in the viewer's face, but those scenes do give the film texture.
On top of that, the movie has a good cast of many familiar faces. Tom Cruise in the main role gives it his best, as he usually does. His performance is heart wrenching. It would have been cooler if Willem Dafoe stayed in the movie for longer than he did but maybe then he would have chewed the scenery too much and outweigh the film.
The cinematography is very strong, with some of imagery that became iconic. The palette goes from the golden colours of idealistic 1950's America to the yellow hell of Vietnam to the grimy dark colours of the broken life after the war.
Born on the Fourth of July seems to get better as it goes along because the structure starts becoming more and more apparent and the setup start paying off, but it would be a better movie if it was not so pushy.
That music keeps on coming back and it is always either the adventurous tune from every children's adventure movie ever or else the saddest tragedy tune, like someone love of their life died. It really affects the mood of the movie and is one of those movie scores that doesn't like to sit in the background. It is persistently noticeable while watching the movie. The music is good on its own, but combined with the screenplay, it becomes a major contributor to that cheesy feeling.
Born on the Fourth of July is as if a hippie tried to do an anti-war movie and tried his to stay respectful, tasteful and reserved. He thinks he is, but he still can't help but push his point in every scene. When foreigners see United States they are often overwhelmed by the nationalistic obsession. Stars and stripes are everywhere. It's all a bit too much and too silly. Born on the Fourth of July maintains the spirit of that obsession, but it just turns the flag upside down in the second part of the film. The film appears to be about Ron Kovic's disillusionment and criticises nationalism, while at the same time feeling very nationalistic to the last moment.
This brings me to another issue related to its pushiness: content variety. Of course, a movie should have a point, but this film is hyper focused on "war is bad". We see the young Kovic of the film being a promising young man and the rest of the film we spend watching the negative effects of war on him. Everything is related to that. Just pick a scene. Is war still bad? Yup, it is still bad. Even in the beginning, before Ron experiences war, the obvious music and themes remind you that war will, in fact, be bad. It is only towards the end of the movie that something more positive and meaningful starts coming through, but this is a long movie, and you have to wait a while for that pay-off.
Born on the Fourth of July makes me appreciate The Thin Red Line more. That is another movie with an anti-war message but it is much more subtle.
Having said that, at least there is a clear message and a good structure to support it. The progression in the main character and the change in his beliefs feels realistic and spread out over the course of the film. The positive side to the movie being so obvious is that it is easy to grasp. Raw and dirty scenes may be forced in the viewer's face, but those scenes do give the film texture.
On top of that, the movie has a good cast of many familiar faces. Tom Cruise in the main role gives it his best, as he usually does. His performance is heart wrenching. It would have been cooler if Willem Dafoe stayed in the movie for longer than he did but maybe then he would have chewed the scenery too much and outweigh the film.
The cinematography is very strong, with some of imagery that became iconic. The palette goes from the golden colours of idealistic 1950's America to the yellow hell of Vietnam to the grimy dark colours of the broken life after the war.
Born on the Fourth of July seems to get better as it goes along because the structure starts becoming more and more apparent and the setup start paying off, but it would be a better movie if it was not so pushy.