Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Any other year, Tom Cruise would have won an Oscar for his memorizing role as Ron Kovic. Too bad he was up against Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot, which is one of the best performances of all time.
Cruise ages from the bright-eyed, naive teenager to the hardened and paralyzed veteran, who rapidly also becomes disillusioned with the Vietnam War, just as so many Americans also were.
Moving swiftly (too swiftly, skipping over his time at basic training and his first tour in Vietnam), the has glimpses of his second tour, where he accidentally shoots a fellow American in the hazy orange sunlight, before getting shot in the shoulder and foot (not sure how that would lead him to getting paralyzed from the chest down). Not only will he never walk again, despite his stubborn pride insisting otherwise, he also can't have children, which I think affects just as much, if not more than the whole never walking again.
When he returns to his hometown, he is greeted as a hero, even though his own younger brother (he is the oldest of six) is against the war. Ron has tons of struggles, including drinking. It isn't until a near-death experience in Mexico, that Ron finally pulls himself together. He confronts the dead soldier's family, where his confession is met with mixed reviews. He, then, proceeds to protest the war along with fellow veterans, eventually being invited to speak at the 1976 Democratic convention.
Cruise carries the film and he is excellent. The other actors really don't have big roles though everyone is great as well. I would have liked a bit of an epilogue explaining what Ron's done since then and there is really no love story, which always upsets the romantic part of me. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Kyra Sedgwick (who was actually young once) is good as Donna, Ron's high school girlfriend, but when she appears later, romance is never discussed and what appears to be a wedding ring on her left hand is never explained.
-The scenes at the Bronx hospital are especially horrific, that place is absolutely rank.
-This film also brings up good points about racism in America.
-Willem Dafoe is also great as another disabled veteran Ron meets in Mexico.