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Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July Image
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Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Tom Cruise
  • Summary: Based on a true story, the film follows the young Ron Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War, to an embittered veteran paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country, Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left, and struggled before emerging as a brave new voice for the disenchanted. (Universal Studios) … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    But Stone has found in Cruise the ideal actor to anchor the movie with simplicity and strength. Together they do more than show what happened to Kovic. Their fervent, consistently gripping film shows why it still urgently matters.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Nothing Cruise has done will prepare you for what he does in Born on the Fourth of July. His performance is so good that the movie lives through it. Stone is able to make his statement with Cruise's face and voice and doesn't need to put everything into the dialogue.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheila Benson
    60
    Possibly because Stone empathizes so enormously with co-writer Kovic, who came back from Vietnam at the age of 21 paralyzed from the chest down, the director has lost the specificity that made "Platoon" so electrifying. In its place he uses bombast, overkill, bullying. His scenes, and their ironic juxtapositioning, explode like land mines. [20 Dec 1989, p.1]
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See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Ben
    10
    This may not be a movie you revisit very often, but it is an extremely inspiring tale of Ron Kovics life. It gives Vietnam Veterans a true face, and is a great movie to watch for anyone wondering about the political terror of the vietnam war. Also, Tom Cruise gives his finest performance as Kovics, and the film is not as in your face as some of Stones other work.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. LordNaseby
    4
    If you want to go see Tom Cruise complaining about how unfair life is to him then this is definitely the movie for you. I know it is supposed to be another powerful Oliver Stone Vietnam film and I have respect for Platoon. But really did this film need to be so friggin' long? This was one of Cruise's worst roles and that is saying something. If you want to see a good Cruise film, try Tropic Thunder. Otherwise ignore this bloated, over-long, poorly acted mess of a film that didn't deserve any Oscars that year much less best Director.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

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