Born On The Fourth of July

The film is a biography of Vietnam, war veteran Ron Kovic who was paralyzed fighting on the front lines during the Vietnam War. He becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for and was once so passionate about.

Ron grows up being pro war and very patriotic about the United States. Throughout his childhood he is exposed to Fourth of July Parades as well as John F. Kennedy as president, which ultimately inspires him to enlist in the Marines. He is looking forward to his act of duty but is let down when his love interest Donna, turns down his invitation to their prom.  This would be the last time Ron would see Donna before he goes off to war. He ends up at the dance anyways, and the two share a beautiful kiss which later in the film leads them reuniting as they meet again later in their life.

Ron is a respectable marine but is ultimately scared for his life. In his second act of duty in Vietnam, The stress and constant paranoia takes over him and he mistakenly shoots one of his own marines, killing him. This has a great effect on Ron as he begins to feel extremely guilty for his actions, which leads him to appeal to his officer. The platoon endures another dangerous encounter with the enemy, where Ron is critically wounded and becomes paralyzed from the waist down and is luckily saved by another marine who carries him to safety.

The story then displays the disgusting conditions of the hospital that Ron is being cared for at. The hospital staff had no respect for the patients who just risked their life for their country, which sadly left them with injuries that are life threatening. It was extremely surprising for me to watch how terribly treated these war veterans were. It was really hard to see how awful the nurses treated the patients; I could honestly not believe the truth behind the scene that the conditions and treatment did in fact happen during these times. This was a crucial factor in influencing Ron to later become an anti war activist as he looses complete trust in his country.

Ron encounters with Donna again and together they stand up for what they believe in and she is the one who helps Ron learn and understand that it is okay to be against the war especially after paralyzing him on his second act of duty.

I think Tom Cruise did an excellent job of playing Ron Kovic as he truly displayed the intense emotion that was needed to make the role believable and honest. I really enjoyed the movie and how it showed the truth and struggles one encounters after experiencing such tragedies as Ron did because of the war. His perspective was completely altered because of his experiences and definitely displayed how strong of a person he is. The movie was more enjoyable knowing that it was based on a true story and that Ron Kovic is in fact real and everything he went through in the movie were real life struggles that he faced in his life. I truly appreciated the story, the bravery and the strength of Ron and this a film I would definitely recommend.