Just about everybody has seen something by Oliver Stone, and this early film is right up with the best of them. A very good story line is supported by a convincing cast. It all looks authentic and, this being Oliver Stone, avoids the sort of cliches which often intrude in Hollywood war films. What you see of the violence and bloodshed is unfortunately not something that is necessarily confined to El Salvador either in time or place so that this film is as fresh and relevant today as when it was made.