Full Metal Jacket (1987) User Reviews

The movies finally got Parris Island right

[brujay-1 · 8/10 · 22 December 2006]

Though I've read only a couple of dozen of the nearly 500 comments on this film, I didn't see any from ex-Marines who'd had the Parris Island experience. I went through PI in 1957. The time period in the picture would have been about 1967, since the in-country sequence includes the '68 Tet Offensive. Little had changed in those 10 years except the switch from M1s to M16s.

For the most part Kubrick got Parris Island right on the money. And why shouldn't he have, since his screen DI, Lee Ermey was in fact a real DI before he started acting (he played another DI in "The Boys of Company C," an earlier and lesser Vietnam flick)? He had a built- in technical adviser. The screams and insults and profanity and physical punishment were all part of the DIs armamentarium. When you're facing up to 75 young strangers you need to immediately establish absolute authority and hang on to it for 13 weeks. Furthermore, you want to break the breakable as soon as you can. My platoon had its Private Pyles and though none ended up as he does in "Full Metal Jacket," I remember that they simply disappeared from our ranks, never to be heard from again. Nothing Ermey as Sgt. Hartman does is exaggerated.

Kubrick, however, does exaggerate. Speaking of Pyle's ending, it's almost impossible for me to imagine that a recruit could manage to sneak a clip of live rounds away from the rifle range. Every shooter at the range has his own rifle coach, and every single round is very carefully accounted for. Kubrick started the killing one scene too early.

I've read that DIs nowadays are forbidden to use the time-honored f-word, and are not allowed to lay hands on recruits. I don't know if that's good or bad for training (I had my face slapped hard my first day of boot camp and that was just for openers), but then all of us old-timers like to brag about how tough it useta be!

A final note: It's interesting to compare "Full Metal Jacket" to another attempt at a portrayal of Parris Island, Jack Webb's "The DI," made around '55 or '56. Webb tries for authenticity, but as I was to learn a year or so later, his PI was a boy scout camp.

Full Metal Jacket 30 years later

[alanbenfieldjr · 9/10 · 28 June 2017]

Strange, as I sat to watch Full Metal Jacket for the first time in years, what I remembered most was Lee Emery's Sgt Hartman's rantings and Vincent D'Onofrio. In fact, it was Vincent D'Onofrio's Pvt Lawrence, known as "Gomer Pyle" that made this Stanley Kubrick film, truly memorable. I'm noticing this more and more as I get older and revisit old films. The performances, certain performances, even in supporting roles allow a film to keep growing with the passing of time. Full Metal Jacket a shattering film or I should say, two shattering films. The first part, the training, the intro is a masterpiece practically impossible to match up, so, the second part doesn't match it. But, still. A film-experience. Vincent D'Onofrio's performance even more powerful now, 30 years later. Enormous! The British skies over Vietnam is another reminder than an artist's eye knows no boundaries.

Very good movie- A film of 2 halves: the first perfect, the second lagging behind but good enough

[heisenberg12 · 8/10 · 7 June 2017]

I finally got around to watching this for the first time.

The first half is a 10/10, the second half is a 7/10 and falls apart into what seems like every war movie's clichés, even though it's good enough.

The first half is a masterpiece of filmmaking- there's almost no flaws, the pacing is perfect, the acting great, it has an instant classic type experience to it you'll never forget.

The second half is good, decent but it doesn't rival the first half and its perfection. That makes its let down even more pronounced.

So overall, I give it an 8/10 because you can't overlook the drop in quality of the second half.

8/10

Paint It Black

[Lechuguilla · 10/10 · 16 November 2009]

"With flowers and my love both never to come back ... It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black". So sings the man whose throbbing song marks the film's end, merciless lyrics to describe thematically a story that is as wrenching as it is mesmerizing.

There are no villains in this film, only heroic victims. The villains are all off-screen, comfy behind mahogany desks, or dressed for success and giving shrill speeches about how maintaining peace requires war. Strange logic.

First it's boot camp, a dreary prospect at best, for an ordinary group of young American men. Here, a sadistic drill Sargent, in colorful language, barks out orders and insults straight from Hades. It's do or die, almost literally, for our greenhorns. It's an ordeal of blackness from which some may never recover. Still, the grunts learn a valuable lesson; namely, that life is mostly physical, not mental. It's a lesson some ivory tower college professors never learn.

But then it's on to an even blacker black ... Vietnam. Combat scenes are rendered believable by effective visuals and terrific sound effects: pounding percussion, amplified sounds of equipment and footsteps across explosive debris, and an always present, ever-so-subtle ... echo. Potent and torturous, these scenes convey a Zen-like immediacy, an impending sense of doom. And then at film's end, those lyrics ...

Composed of two, barely overlapping, parts, the script's structure is a bit unorthodox. But the film works, owing to an intensity that never lets up. R. Lee Ermey is of course terrific as the harsh drillmaster. Casting of the young lions is okay, though a tad weak in one or two cases. Insertion of pop songs of the era works well, to amplify the cultural disconnect between a war-torn Vietnam and an indifferent America.

Like reading a history book, watching an occasional war movie is good for the soul. It puts one's problems in perspective. For that reason, this particular war movie is better than most. It's riveting, intense. And the sense of impending blackness hovers ever present over the story's heroic victims, like the sword of Damocles.

You asked for comments Vietnam era Marines

[1GRUNT · 22 February 2004]

I was a Marine at Parris Island in 1977 and I can certainly tell this film is very accurate in every respect right down to the blanket party scene. The base that they used in England looks very much like Parris Island, right down to the Grinder and the barracks in the background. The part where they are running on the road with Joker carrying Pyle looks like the road to Elliots Beach. The Cadence is true to life as well as Senior Drill Instructor Hartmans dialect, all of the comments I can say 100% that I have heard on The Island and had them used on me. For a person who was there it had me fooled, although the O-Course and the rifle range are completely different in layout and looks. The inside of the barracks and the head are identical to the real thing. For anyone viewing this film trust me it doesn't get any closer to being Parris Island and I would say that the "Gunny" saw to that. As far as the in country segment it looks pretty much like the real photos I saw in USMC training films.

'Born To Kill' - The best Vietnam war movie of all time

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 14 October 2015]

SPOILER: Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 realistic Vietnam war film and is one of the best films of the 80's ever made, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford was based on Hasford's novel The Short-Timers (1979). Full Metal jacket (1987) was Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations. It is one of my personal favorite war movies. I love this movie to death.

A superb ensemble falls in for for Stanley Kubrick's brilliant saga about the Vietnam War and the dehumanizing process that turns people into trained killers. Joker (Matthew Modine), Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin), Gomer (Vincent D'Onofrio), Eightball (Dorian Harewood), Cowboy (Arliss Howard) and more experience boot-camp hell pit bulled by a leather lung D.I. (Lee Ermey) viewing would-be devil dogs as grunts,maggots or something less. The action is savage, the story unsparing the dialog spiked with catching humor. From Basic training rigors to Hue City combat nightmare, Full Metal Jacket scores a cinematic direct hit.

The film focus on a two-segment look at the effect of the military mindset and war itself on Vietnam era Marines. The first half follows a group of recruits in boot camp under the command of the punishing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. In the hell camp the dehumanizing process turns people into trained killers. From boys in to a trained mean machine killers. It's the late 1960s at Parris Island, South Carolina, the U.S. Marine Corps Training Camp, where a group of young Marine recruits, after having their heads shaved, are being prepped for basic training by the brutal Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey), whose orders are to "weed out all non-hackers". Hartman gives each of the Marines nicknames; one pragmatic recruit who talks behind his back becomes "Joker" (Matthew Modine); a Texas recruit becomes "Cowboy" (Arliss Howard). And finally Leonard Lawrence, a 6-foot 3-inch, 280 pound, slow-witted recruit with low intelligence and ambition becomes "Gomer Pyle" (Vincent D'Onofrio), and the focus of Hartman's brutality, because the overweight boy cannot keep up with the other more physically fit recruits in the grueling obstacle courses. The first half more focus on training basics preparing recruits before they ship them to Vietnam and point view story telling from Private James T. "Joker" Davis (Matthew Modine) and about torture physics of a young men who is a marine recruit in the platoon lead by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman his Parris Island drill instructor who tortures him by punish his whole squad for his mistakes. And how that young man turns in to a killing mean machine that blows Hartman's head off! And than Pyle sits down on a toilet, places the muzzle of the weapon in his mouth and pulls the trigger, killing himself.

The second half shows one of those recruits, Joker, covering the war as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, focusing on the Tet offensive. The film now more focus on one of those recruits Private Joker (Matthew Moddine) from the boot camp Parris Island, who is in Da Nang Vietnam, reporting on the Vietnam War for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. He and his partner, combat photographer Rafterman (Kevyn Major Howard), meet a prostitute (Leanne Hong) in the streets and encounter a thief (Nguyen Hue Phong) who steals Rafterman's camera. When they return to their base, they are given new assignments, but Joker wants to go to the front lines to get a good story. Joker and Rafterman are assigned to Phu Bai, a Marine forward operating-base near the ancient Vietnamese city of Hue, Joker is reunited with his team recruit from his training boot camp Paris Island, Cowboy and his unit, the Lusthog Squad, before they met Cowboy's Unit they are go trough They go to the mass grave and find over 20 bodies in a mass grave that have been covered with lime.

The film is Staney Kubrick's best realistic Vietnam War film of all time. One of my all time favorite Vietnam War flicks from the 80's, the other film is Platoon (1986) Once more there's excellent cinematography - check out the haunting, almost claustrophobic landscapes of Vietnam. The combination of the demented treatment the recruits receive in boot camp with the combined "hours of boredom, seconds of terror" feel of the Vietnam scenes is intense and not for everyone, but feels REAL. I love how the film focus more in a city of Hue and the battlefield starts their. The battle scene sequences are outstanding and Terrific!They look real, There are dozen's of body's out their. We first see Tank driving trough the city of Hue the city's are filed with fire, burning buildings and destroyed houses and street is full of blood. Sergeant Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin),the nihilistic M60 machine gunner of the Lusthog Squad is one of the most beloved characters in the movie and he is at best a supporting cast member. But you wouldn't even think about Animal Mother being just another guy. He is so memorable that you look at him as one of the stars of the show.

'Born to Kill' - written on Joke's helmet. Is sequent that it has to do with the "duality of Man" according to Jung. 10/10

Fascinating Despite Come-Down

[ReelCheese · 8/10 · 18 July 2006]

The first half of "Full Metal Jacket" is so intensely entertaining that director Stanley Kubrick can be forgiven for the slight come-down that follows. The opening scenes draw us into the strict world of "maggots" training to join the ranks of real men, otherwise known as Marines. We see the characters humiliated, yelled at like children, beaten and, in one tragic case, broken down. It's an unpleasant yet fascinating place to visit from the comfort and safety of our living room couches. Yet once the action shifts to the Vietnam War, when you would expect even better, something is lost. The characters seem less real and the atmosphere less intriguing. Overall, however, there aren't many faults to find with this effort, but be forewarned that it's certainly not for younger viewers.

Kubrick is genius.

[Peach-2 · 10/10 · 10 December 1998]

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket seems like an uncompleted film, but to me that's poetic justice to one of America's uncompleted wars. The film is harsh and doesn't turn a blind eye to the atrocities of Vietnam. Kubrick is the true master of atmosphere in film. He makes you feel like you are there. Friends of mine have commented that they only like the first half of the film and that the second half falls apart. I believe Kubrick sets up the first half to be an understandable reflection of the terror that would eventually enter the lives of these soldiers during war. It is easy to identify with being picked on because we all have in some way. Not all of us, on the other hand, have fought in war. Kubrick is the master.

Compelling from the first time the shaver bites

[jamtin1 · 10/10 · 13 January 2006]

Goddamn you Stanley Kubrick. For me Clockwork Orange set the standard a long time ago for cinematic perfection; FMJ just raises the bar. Sitting around with bored in-laws I quietly slipped this into the DVD player, 20 minutes later conversation has ceased and everybody is absorbed. Predictable Kubrick really, stunningly lit, musical soundtrack that is oh-so-right, and the cinematography -Jesusmotherofmary. Ten years before anybody had thought of picking up a movie camera and running with it, Kubrick had perfected the technique. War is hell? -it sure looks a vision of hell. Stunning in every way.

Very well made--tough to watch.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 1 July 2009]

Warning--This movie is NOT for young kids or those who do not wish to see violence and adult content, as it's rather brutal and the language is pretty rough. Now I am not complaining about this, but this is clearly an adult film intended for adults. It's hard to really do this sort of film without making it this intense--just be forewarned. In addition, this is a very tense and unpleasant sort of film--be aware of this before watching.

This film has a ton of reviews, so my summarizing the film or going into any sort of in-depth analysis is probably a giant waste of time. And, Bob the Moo has done such a good job of reviewing it, I say you just go read his! In brief, here's what I liked or at least respected in the film: It had a very gritty realism and managed to pull the viewer into it very, very well. The first portion (in boot camp) and the second portion (in Vietnam) were very different but both were very tense and compelling. While it wasn't pretty, it was well done.

And, in brief, here's what I didn't like: The constant and clichéd use of rock and pop music. A few decades ago, this would have been innovative. Now, FULL METAL JACKET sounds an awful lot like GOOD MORNING Vietnam and APOCALYPSE NOW and other films. The constant blaring soundtrack was, I suppose, meant to be surreal and illustrate how ludicrous the war was. However, I just thought hearing "Surfin' Bird" was annoying and a cheap use of music. Apart from that, there isn't anything to say negative about the film.

Is this the greatest anti-war film? No. Its message (like the war) was rather mixed at times and lacked the same impact of films like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT or WESTFRONT 1918, but it sure did come close.

A film of two halves

[tr91 · 6/10 · 9 September 2013]

'Full Metal Jacket' was a film that I had been meaning to watch for a while after all the good stuff I had heard about it.

It really is a film of two halves, unfortunately I didn't like the 2nd half.

The 1st half at boot camp was excellent, we saw a lot of character development and emotion as well as a lot of humour and really serious issues. R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio were just brilliant.

The 2nd half I didn't enjoy as much, it looked great and there was a lot of action but it was just a bit boring and felt really dragged out, whereas the 1st part just had everything that you wanted.

Glad I got round to seeing it but wouldn't watch it again, slightly disappointed after a really good start to the film.

6/10.

Kubrick - yay! One of the best war-based movies ever

[Aidan McGuinness · 5 November 2002]

I like Kubrick's stuff. Generally any movie he directed was several notches, in quality terms, above any other director (particularly those working nowdays). Does `Full Metal Jacket' continue to show the mastermind behind `2001', `The Shining' and `Dr. Strangelove'? Yup, it does.

As plots go. there isn't much here. I don't particularly care because the script makes up for it. `Full Metal Jacket' is very much a movie of two halves - the first half dealing with a group of conscripts in training at military camp and the hardships they endure under their `hard-as-nails' instructor. The second half is about their exploits in Vietnam itself. Fights? In 'Nam? Haven't we seen all that before? Yes, but rarely with such an experienced hand at work. And it's the camp scenes that are so wonderful.

Gustav Hasford et. Al. have produced an excellent script, particularly for the opening hour. There's barely a moment's pause before you're thrown into the screaming face of Sergeant Hartman. He's hurling abuse at his new recruits with lines so forceful and sharp they'll have you gasping in shock while simultaneously laughing in incredulity. It's the way the script runs in without a pause for breath that helps so wonderfully - and the fact that it's so powerful. It's never just about one-liners from a sergeant, it's also telling a story about how humans work under these conditions. The first half is about how they suffer under their own at home (and very well told it is too), the second half about the human condition under the duress of war. It's an interesting comparison, and a tale well told. The battle may lack some sort of overall context or resolution, but then I feel that's in keeping with the movie - it's about the individual, and not the war, and such elements cannot be easily quantified.

All the characters have a grounded `real world' feel to them, due to both the material and the versatility of the actors. R. Lee Emery is viciously delightful as the manic Sergeant Hartman, while managing to add occasional touches of humanity and a `this is for your own good' attitude through subtle gestures. Matthew Modine is the amiable lead, Private Joker, and as such balances the hard and soft edges admirably (if not spectacularly). The other stand out though is Vincent D'Onofrio as Private Gomer Pyle, the recruit picked upon by Hartman and the other cadets. There's a wonderful innocence about him in the beginning, which transforms into a frightening hardening of his soul later on. The evil/beyond-hope look he gives later on (anyone who has seen the movie will know the one I mean), remains as the most frightening look I've ever seen depicted onscreen. All in all the cast accredit themselves well here.

And so to the direction. It's Kubrick. It's good. Once more there's excellent cinematography - check out the haunting, almost claustrophobic landscapes of Vietnam. There's some lovely use of filters (that haunting blue). There's a brilliant subtle score, that's eerie when used, but never intrusive. There's a very good command of pace - the viewer is never left idle or bored, and the story (particularly in the tremendous first half) flows along smoothly. Great touches abound throughout - check out the many examples, such as the opening scene of Hartman marching right up to the recruits (and to the camera), spitting and screaming vindictive comments, almost as if at the viewer. Some may criticise the almost disconnected feeling you have in the battle scenes towards the end, but I found their stillness, their quietness, and raw power, far more effective than the flash-bang wizardry employed in tripe such as `We Were Heroes'. I can blather on about Kubrick for ages. so I'll stop now.

Is `Full Metal Jacket' perfect? Not quite because of the `two halves' syndrome. Although they do contrast and complement one another, the first half is very much the stronger half. The second feels weaker against it. In and of itself the second half would normally be regarded well, but it doesn't have the visceral power that the first does. I love both bits, but I do love one bit more. This makes the movie suffer just a little. There's so much to like here though that I can't criticise too much - and so much to cherish (especially in the lines delved out). Once more the main man succeeds. Definetely worth seeing. 9/10.

"The dead know only one thing - it is better to be alive"

[thomasgouldsbrough · 8/10 · 1 March 2022]

Full Metal Jacket is an excellent war film. All the characters are very well written, and represent very common characters in the military. There's always a class clown, a hardened individual that's respected, and someone who just isn't capable. The acting of Vincent D'Onofrio in this is exceptional, he only has a short amount of screen time, but his story is very sad and impactful. The second half of the film starts to become less enjoyable, but nevertheless it's still a good film.

Kubrick's version of Vietnam

[Agent10 · 10/10 · 28 April 2002]

Stanley Kubrick always managed to bring something new to his palate whenever he made a film. He brought dark comedy to the screen with Dr. Stranglove, an epic story with Spartacus, and a film more important for its efforts than box office potential in the film Paths of Glory. This is what makes Full Metal Jacket so entertaining.

Humor, horror and political commentary are the themes which shape Full Metal Jacket. From the overbearing drill sergeant to the war loving soldiers. It all seems to make sense within this film, never overstepping its bounds or being to subtle. Kubrick may have alienated some his hardcore fans with such a mainstream-type story, but then again, he helped mainstream movies take a bold step. What doesn't the current cinema owe Kubrick?

R. Lee Ermey.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 16 September 2013]

R. Lee Ermey dominates this Stanley Kubrick directed Vietnam War drama, as he plays profane, no-nonsense, ultra tough Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, who belittles, browbeats, and insults the marine recruits in brutal boot camp training. Vincent D'Onofrio plays a slow-witted recruit who gets it the worst from Hartman, until he finds out that he is quite good at shooting... Mathew Modine plays "Joker", since he has an overt sense of humor that also captures the attention of Hartman, whose relentless, unmerciful verbal attacks take their toll in ways he didn't imagine... Film then picks up later, as Joker is a war correspondent for Stars & Stripes, who witnesses first hand the insanity of Vietnam...

R. Lee Ermey so dominates the first half of the film(in an unforgettable, searing portrayal of dehumanization) that, when his part is over, it leaves a looming shadow over the rest of the film that is never lifted, though it is still a well-presented look at the war, though nothing exceptional. Worth watching for Ermey, who should have received an Academy Award!

Still modern today, all too modern.

[guy-bellinger · 9/10 · 30 November 2004]

One of the greatest war movies ever, a statement very few will dispute. I will therefore not illustrate this point : thousands have done it before me, often brilliantly.I'd rather lay the stress on Kubrick's modernity in "Full Metal Jacket". Indeed the USA being once again at war, it is interesting to compare the way they wage war these days with the way they did back in the sixties. And the comparison is edifying. Just apply the following statements to Iraq and you will realize NOTHING HAS CHANGED : - the marines are trained to become killing machines without being taught minimum knowledge about the people they come to defend. - the boys know nothing about the Vietnamese and reason according to American standards : for instance "Cow-Boy" complains half-jokingly half-seriously that there are no horses in Vietnam. Another example is the soldiers singing the Mickey Mouse Club hymn after fighting, which strikes as particularly out of place. - they try in vain to impose democracy through gruesome violence and destruction. Such similarities abound and testify to the film's absolute - and unfortunate - modernity. I wish Kubrick was still with us. I also wish George Bush and his advisers had seen this masterpiece and - most of all - understood its message. They would have avoided another bloody war doomed to fail.

FMJ

[FKDZ · 7/10 · 1 March 2022]

Arguably the first half of this movie is what this movie is remembered by. It's a incredible piece of acting and writing. It fully engages you and doesn't really let you go. Though it does at a moment become predictable where it will end. But being the bare witness to the demoralization and dehumanization of humans to turn them into killing machines is somewhat unmatched.

The second half however is underwhelming. Few of the things seen truly feel impactful and that's also due to the somewhat underwhelming performance, writing and directing of Pvt. Joker. I don't know why they did it but his emotional vulnerability is all over the place, one moment he doesn't even care about a fallen squad member, and then he does, there's no transition. And it made the character unbelievable and thus ruined much of the emotional turmoil for me. The second half felt simpler and cheaper to me in general, dumb, ignorant soldiers in a war they aren't supposed to be in. The acting just felt somewhat flat as well. Like the banter between Joker and Animal Mother. And the anti-war message was lacking to say the least due to a lack of visual despair and agony.

The directing and music is fantastic (though not that bird song..ugh), not much more to say there than you'll hear more than enough iconic soundtracks and beautifully shot scenes (set design mostly). Some practical effects and such feel lacking though and is inconsistent, one guy gets shot, blood splatters everywhere, another guy gets shot, and nothing, just falls down to the ground unconvincingly. This was especially bad during a ambush scene at basecamp where the enemies just ''played dead'' it seemed and fell with grace.

So yeah, I'll remember this movie for its first half, but I almost already forgot most of the second half...definitely not one of Kubrick's best.

The best war film I have seen

[thomas8331 · 13 October 2004]

NO SPOILERS! This is a review, not a synopsis.

First of all I love Kubrick's work, so I came into this with a bias. However I have seen a lot of action and war films, and this one, to an individual who never went to war, seems the most true-to-life, taken as a whole. This IS how you have to look at this film, incidentally; trying to break it down into two or three parts and say which was better is missing the point of the film, I think.

In the same way that "Trainspotting" was an anti-drug film that did not gloss over anything, "Full Metal Jacket" is (for me) an anti-war film that stares straight at the ugliness of war and the potential for violence within almost all people, especially those trained, conditioned, even twisted, into military roles, without preaching even a single time. Less allegory and more applicability! Wonderful!

The camera work was superb. I felt like I was walking through the movie with the Marines, from the barracks to the battlefield scenes.

I have seen others criticize this film for the voice over, but I felt that it was used sparingly, and was helpful, not overdone. The narrator doesn't say anything that seems out-of-place.

Others have commented on the music, the acting, and so on, so I won't add my repetitive comments, except that the drill sergeant is perfect!

The combination of the demented treatment the recruits receive in boot camp with the combined "hours of boredom, seconds of terror" feel of the Vietnam scenes is intense and not for everyone, but feels REAL.

10 out of 10, perfect.

The Power of Film demonstrates the Horror of War

[Exploding Penguin · 8/10 · 13 May 2003]

A gritty, intense, no-holds-barred war film that grabs attention from the very beginning and holds it all the way through. The only detriment to this film is the fact that the first half (Boot Camp) is so much more powerful than the second half (Vietnam).

The film is basically about how war sucks the life out of humans and turns them into 'killing machines'. The greatest performances in this film are of course R. Lee Ermey, the savage drill instructor, and Vincent D'Onofrio, his slow-witted whipping boy. The viewer alternately laughs and cringes at the relentless abuse and degradation inflicted by the former on the latter. And at the famous line, "What is your major malfunction?", the tension reaches an almost unbearable limit and the viewer ceases to move or breathe.

This movie, like many of Kubrick's, is too graphic for many people, but I highly recommend it to those who can withstand its assault on both senses and consciences.

Amazing Kubrick does it again

[DeathFish · 9/10 · 10 August 2006]

This is another Kubrick masterpiece that has pleased people all over the world. This time it is a different kind of a war based movie, and I have to say that it is one of the best if not the best war movie of all time. Many people write that the second half of the movie is bad, or even horrible. I agree that the first part of the movie is the best part, because it shows a completely new side of the lives of marines. No other movie has ever showed that base camp training episode as well as Kubrick does it. It is very psychological and painful to watch these men braking down and then rise as cold-blooded killers. No one shows that as well as "Gomer Pyle". As many others I think that the drill Sergeant gives this movie an extra spark with his comical lines and hard personality, he actually makes you laugh, and even so you really get to hate him. The second half is the actual battle in Vietnam. This is where the movie is more similar to other war movies, but yet it is unique. Kubrick is all over the place throughout the entire movie, the camera and sound effects along with the music keeps reminding us that this really is a Kubrick film. The second half is without doubt also amazing, because of the uncensored madness it makes you sick with sorrow and hate. The sniper scene is of course one of the strongest and most terrifying scenes of the second half. Also the interviewing part is a very good idea I think, Kubrick finds yet another way of showing the different mind states of these men. That makes the characters even more real and makes you even more sympathetic for them and their destinies. In every way a breathtaking movie from start to finish. Kubick uses all the methods of making a good war movie, and then some. Besides that the movie is filled with intelligent and poetic lines, beautiful details and symbols, and some of my all time favorite movie quotes. This movie leaves a stain and it will always be high on my personal list of movies. Watch it, enjoy it, watch it again and love it. 10/10

a superb, grim, cold, moving film

[bnymph · 10/10 · 8 October 2006]

A preliminary note: anyone who liked this movie well enough to read comments should know that a considerable amount of detail in both it and _Apocalypse Now_ had origins in a 1968 Japanese novel called Into a Black Sun, by a Japanese war correspondent working in Vietnam at the time. It took about 20 years to be translated into English, but it's in American paperback now. I recommend it.

I just saw this movie for the first time since it was deployed in movie theaters in '87. As then, I was knocked out by what a great film it is. I can't help but contrast it with such movies as Apocalypse Now and Barbarians At The Gate, both movies that I admire, but let's face it, they are florid and melodramatic. Full Metal Jacket is anything but. It is so cold and hard in tone that it freezes your bones. At the same time, both the cinematography and sound track are so good, so effective, that the watcher can't look away from the movie.

This is classic Kubrick, in my opinion: the correct correlation of visual and audio information, with a plot that is so horrifying that one lies awake for awhile.

The best vietnam war movie alongside Apocalypse now

[johnfortnitekennedy · 10/10 · 23 March 2023]

Full metal jacket is almost like two completely different movies in one. The first is at the boot camp where we see people being trained to join the soldiery, and the second one takes place during the actual war. Through a series of disturbing and bloody scenes, Stanley Kubrick shows a brutal world of the late 60s, and how military dehumanizes soldiers and turns them into mindless killing machines. The characters are having fun, cracking jokes, showing that even in a place as dangerous as Vietnam, they are still having fun, brutally murdering enemy soldiers. At the end, it's almost as if they realised.

Superb, one of Kubrick's best

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 13 January 2011]

I like Stanley Kubrick, and I love his films, especially 2001, Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory, Dr Strangelove and this, his penultimate film. Full Metal Jacket is a harrowing, violent and foul-mouthed film, yet it is superbly done. True, one or two parts may lack tropical realism, but the atmosphere the film creates is extraordinary. The film looks excellent with skillful cinematography. The script is very well crafted and does have a sense of realism, while the story is compelling with the transition from the training at the camp to the bombed Vietamnesse city smoothly done. I am with those who thinks the first half is better than the second, but that is not to say the second half isn't good, it is more than good, but the first half really was outstanding. Kubrick's direction as always is superb, as is the acting especially Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio. All in all, one of Kubrick's best and one of the best war movies you will see. 10/10 Bethany Cox

That Giant Sucking Sound

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 4 October 2009]

The unifying theme of Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' is that Vietnam put American in the toilet; each of the film's three parts, or "Acts", has characters in what is repeatedly described as "a world of s--t." The men are successful trained to kill - but, they do not know when to kill, who to kill, or why anyone should die. Narrator protagonist Matthew Modine (as James "Joker" Davis) not only wears a "Peace" button on his uniform, but also has written "Born To Kill" on his helmet (to illustrate the duality of man). The reason for the war is explained, "We are here to help the Vietnamese because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out."

Probably, the film's strongest "story" is told in the first "Act"; it features drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey (as Hartman) belittling overweight Vincent D'Onofrio (as Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence). This story literally ends in the latrine, where a successfully trained killer demonstrates his ability. Some of the material in the rest of the film becomes very weak, in comparison; especially disappointing are some mid-movie scenes "staged" for the camera of "Stars and Stripes" photographer "Rafterman" (Kevyn Major Howard) - the characters all say silly things for the camera. Still, some near-poetic moments of humor and brutality remain to be seen.

******* Full Metal Jacket (6/17/87) Stanley Kubrick ~ Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Arliss Howard