SummaryDuring the Vietnam War, a soldier (Michael J. Fox) finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Directed By:Brian De Palma
Written By:Daniel Lang, David Rabe
Casualties of War
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
71% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
21% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
8% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
100
Casualties of War is just as successful as "Platoon" was in making us feel Vietnam's moment-by-moment tension, but its central event gives it more resonance. [18 Aug 1989, p.43]
100
Even at their most disturbing, Brian De Palma's films have always seemed like brilliant abstractions, sinister theorems from a bloody virtuoso. But Casualties of War, the director's rigorous, unflinching, masterly new film, is something else altogether. It is a film of great emotional power and great seriousness in which all of the filmmaker's talents and interests are in balance. It is a breakthrough work, a signal of an artist's blossoming maturity, and one of the most punishing, morally complex movies about men at war ever made.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
64% Positive
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
18% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
18% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Jun 24, 2026
8
A deeply unsettling and powerful war movie that doesn't shy away from showcasing the most disgusting atrocities human beings can commit during wartime. Casualties of War brilliantly tracks the immense psychological suffering ****, moral soldier who is forced to stand alone against his own squad after they commit a horrific crime against an innocent civilian. Sean Penn delivers a truly menacing and great performance as the unhinged villainous sergeant. The screenplay is tightly written and highly engaging. My only minor critique is that the direction feels a bit too cinematic at times; a raw, darker, and more grounded documentary-style approach could have made the horrific subject matter feel even more intense. Overall, a masterpiece of acting and a great, heavy watch.
Feb 23, 2024
3
This is a film that sets out to explore some of our fragilities brought about by war and it certainly tackles this content. Paralleling this is an exploration of small man syndrome which actually takes centre stage of the film. Considering the content it is quite surprising that the film maker does address the issue of female companionship for US service men. Many armies of the period did have organised female companionship programs. The US with it's archaic religious dogma was one army that did not have a female companionship program but like much of what involves the US it is yet another case of the elephant in the room. As for Micky Fox, mis-cast would be an understatement. Many of the scenes with him being aggressive are nothing short of unrealistic and laughable. It begs the question of his stance in the film being, is it because he disapproves of **** or is it because he is five foot nothing.
90
Casting Fox was a brilliant coup on De Palma’s part, since he brings with him an image of all-American boyishness and eager-beaver conservatism. Fox’s beautifully acted cowardly passivity in the face of the unthinkable challenges and implicates the viewer to examine his own conscience on the subject of Vietnam.
80
Michael J. Fox is a revelation as the mouse that roared, whilst the score, the direction, and the rest of the cast turn a risky film into a solid addition to the Nam canon.
70
Mr. Penn plays Meserve with terrific elan. There is plausibility in every movement and gesture, and especially in his crafty handsomeness. His Meserve is the sort of man one credits with thoughts when the mind may, in fact, be completely blank.
50
The results are obviously sincere and relatively serious for De Palma (with a fresh handling of wide-screen composition that plays on some of the moral conflicts and ambiguities), but the entire film is predicated on a fairly unquestioning acceptance of the morality of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam—the issue of whether the highly principled hero enlisted or was drafted isn't even brought up—as well as a refusal to link this war with other U.S. involvements in the third world. So the feeling of helplessness that the film honors and provokes amounts to a moral cop-out rather than a genuine confrontation with what the war meant and continues to mean.
30
De Palma is not a director one looks to for conscience, and his track record on the issue of rape has been innocent of moral debate. It's odd to find him dealing with both, and the non-sensationalist approach seems to have taken a toll on his energies: Casualties of War is dull.
Jul 5, 2026
0
Overrated. It takes a serious subject and fails to do it justice. It is painfully slow, relies too heavily on Fox to carry the drama when he doesn't have that weight behind him, and fails to do much of anything else with the other cast members.
Production Company:
- Columbia Pictures
- Art Linson Productions
Release Date:Aug 18, 1989
Duration:1 h 53 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Some Soldiers take things too far
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Political Film Society, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
• 1 Nomination
