This is not a military movie. Sure, it takes place in a military brig, and everyone in it are soldiers, but that is only a set for what this movie is really about.
It is a generational movie about the WWII/Korea generation represented by MSgt. Otis V. McKinney (Martin Sheen), and the Vietnam generation represented by Pfc. Franklin Fairchild Bean (Charlie Sheen).
I read the other day around Father's Day about some psychologist stating that we need fathers like McKinney. Well, like Charlie, I had one, and I can assure you that I would much rather have a father like Tim Russert. The fathers of McKinney's generation had some concept in their heads about discipline, which is good, but they forgot to meld that with love. McKinney cannot understand why his son, who is Bean's age, doesn't want to talk to him. I can.
I don't know if it was novelist Gordon Weaver's intention, but I see why Bean found it easier to join the black convicts rather than McKinney. After all, most, if not all of them, grew up in fatherless homes. With the distance between McKinney's and Bean's generation, it can be said that he grew up fatherless also. Sure, Bean has a sense of responsibility in the end, but he also had a deep sense of compassion. One, he got from his father; the other he had to develop on his own.
This is a movie that speaks highly to my generation. If anyone wants to understand us, then you definitely need to watch it.
It is a generational movie about the WWII/Korea generation represented by MSgt. Otis V. McKinney (Martin Sheen), and the Vietnam generation represented by Pfc. Franklin Fairchild Bean (Charlie Sheen).
I read the other day around Father's Day about some psychologist stating that we need fathers like McKinney. Well, like Charlie, I had one, and I can assure you that I would much rather have a father like Tim Russert. The fathers of McKinney's generation had some concept in their heads about discipline, which is good, but they forgot to meld that with love. McKinney cannot understand why his son, who is Bean's age, doesn't want to talk to him. I can.
I don't know if it was novelist Gordon Weaver's intention, but I see why Bean found it easier to join the black convicts rather than McKinney. After all, most, if not all of them, grew up in fatherless homes. With the distance between McKinney's and Bean's generation, it can be said that he grew up fatherless also. Sure, Bean has a sense of responsibility in the end, but he also had a deep sense of compassion. One, he got from his father; the other he had to develop on his own.
This is a movie that speaks highly to my generation. If anyone wants to understand us, then you definitely need to watch it.