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Full Metal Jacket

In Full Metal Jacket, director Stanley Kubrick attempts to show us the Vietnam War from a fresh angle. The movie can be broken down into two halves. The first of which shows the grueling training that U.S. Marine recruits must go through, and the second shows the actual war. Together, both parts of the movie merge into one large picture of how mentally destructive a war can be.

Perhaps the boot camp section was just such a new view of the military, after all, everyone hears the stories of how excruciating basic training is, but here it is presented in a unique manner that only Kubrick could have achieved. Though the section of the movie that takes place in Vietnam is dwarfed by the boot camp part, the movie is still good. Considered by itself, the Vietnam part is average (if you can call anything Kubrick ever did average). It has its classic moments and its dull ones.

In the boot camp half, the audience follows the mental deterioration of one private, nicknamed Private Pyle, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. His gradual breakdown is due to the tremendous stress and unrelenting verbal assaults of their drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, played by the always excellent R. Lee Ermey.

Kubrick’s 1987 combat classic allows us to follow the soldier, from recruit to seasoned soldier. Though there is no shortage of great movies depicting the Vietnam War, Full Metal Jacket is a view of the war that has yet to be matched.

Written by: Rob Tutton

Reviewers Rating: 7.5
Reader's Rating: 7.17
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