Apocalypse Now (1979) Movie Review

 In “Apocalypse Now”, a soldier is sent on an epic sojourn through Vietnam to complete an assassination mission. The more he reads his target’s dossier, however, the more he realizes he relates to him. 

Apocalypse Now was memorably difficult to make - it went well over-budget and resulted in negative coverage of director Francis Ford Coppola’s perfectionism. However, if you look at the finished product (an effortless-looking performance magnet that accurately if psychedelically portrays the Vietnam War) you wouldn't immediately know that Coppola put his blood, sweat, and tears into this project. 

Everything I said is true and I’ll restate it here; the film feels effortless and features a plethora of good performances from the cast; Martin Sheen is believable as the soldier on a mission. Marlon Brando (who had previously worked with Coppola on The Godfather) shines in his part as sheen’s possibly narcissistic yet charismatic target on route to assassination. 

All of the praise put to the film aside, the film can be meandering or overlong to more pleasantly impatient audiences (although I watched the 3+ hour extended cut and didn’t feel such sentiment). In addition the film is at times brutal and can strike without warning in that regard (also might be close-to-home for more sensitive or younger viewers). 

In conclusion, the film has been acclaimed in recent years and for good reason; it’s a sprawling war epic grand in scale and effective in execution. For those into cinema in general, I would recommend it (though keep in mind that it will not appeal to every single individual, let alone everyone in the 1979 audience from which it came). 

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