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Full Metal Jacket | Year: 1987 Classification: Action/Adventure Directed: - Stanley Kubrick Actors/Actresses: - Matthew Modine - Vincent D'Onofrio - R.Lee Ermey - Vincent D Onofrio A Gripping Underrated War Epic Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is an excellent portrayal of the military mind and the war's affect on it. It follows the characters on in two parts, boot camp and the war. The boot camp scenes are probably some of the most realistic I've seen, and the second half is just as realistic. Full Metal Jacket is an excellent film, but has been overshadowed by some equally realistic vietnam pictures such as "The Deer Hunter", "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon." For this reason, it is not talked about at all. To answer a reviewer before me, his DVD is the "Pan and Scan" version which was released a couple years ago. This one, due out June 12, 2001 is a re-mastered edition with a superb widescreen transfer. I got a copy of mine early, and the transfer is excellently done. Warner Brothers really did a great job on these DVD sound and picture compared to most of their other releases. I was real impressed by the sound, it came out of my speakers with fearce force and anger, just like the war itself. I recommend Full Metal Jacket if you like films about war (Vietnam specifically), and/or films directed by the great Stanley Kubrick. You won't be upset if your expectations aren't too high (this isn't Stan's best work). Schizophrenic, just like war... Most people think that this is really 2 movies in 1: the Marine boot camp first half, the Vietnam combat 2nd half. Actually they are two sides of the same coin. I agree with the Boston Globe's assesment that this is "the greatest war movie ever made." It captures the essence of war: the mass psychological programming that makes it possible, and the concrete results of that programming when it comes in contact with reality. A lot of people criticize the second half as being slow, abrupt, pointless, ugly and anticlimactic---which, of course, is exactly how war IS, especially the Vietnam war. There are two richly metaphorical killings in this movie: at the end of boot camp Pyle kills the drill sargent and himself (=dumb infantile innocence, having been totally bludgeoned and brutalized, kills itself), and at the end of the second half Joker kills a Viet Cong sniper who turns out to be a tiny frail teenage girl (=innocence that has already been despoiled must also be killed). The movie suggests that both forms of innocence/humanity must be killed if one is to "get with the program" of war fighting---a program that is by terms hideous, brutal, corrupt---and absolutely, hilariously absurd. In contrast to today's Bush Jr.'s simpleton yee-haw post-9/11 view of the world, Kubrick's film presents a much more ambiguous and therefore more richly accurate picture: There are no good guys, there are no bad guys, there are just guys who kill and guys who get killed, and there's no telling which category you'll find yourself in, 'cause it's just one big crazy Mickey Mouse show out there, in this world of sh#@. Right-wing lovers of patriotic kitsch need not apply! Like Firing a Glass Rifle... If Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" stopped after its harrowing boot camp sequence, it'd be a 5-star masterpiece. The problem is the film's two-part structure. The first story it tells is such a compelling and fresh take on familiar war-movie material, there's no way the second half can live up to it. Matthew Modine stars as Joker and serves as the narrarator. The first sequence takes place in boot camp, where Joker and the other recruits learn what it means to be a modern warrior. R. Lee Ermey, as the DI, completely dominates this half; his character gets almost all the movie's best lines and is such an original and powerful character, the story never quite recovers after his exit. The boot camp scenes have a nightmarish quality; most effective is the lecture where Ermey praises the sharpshooting skills of former Marines such as Lee Harvey Oswald. I can't think of another film with such a boot camp setting that matches "Full Metal Jacket" in intensity- not "Sands of Iwo Jima," certainly not the otherwise enjoyable comedy "Biloxi Blues." Then the movie moves to Vietnam in time for the Tet Offensive and the Marine battle at Hue City, and despite its increasing violence, the story begins to sag and feel a bit repetitive. Joker, now a combat reporter, meets up with a rifle squad for the fighting at Hue. The combat scenes have a grungy veracity, and when the troops finally enter the city and meet a sniper, there's a growing terror and suspense... unfortunately, the payoff scene runs much to long, with a pat and disappointing moral quandary for Joker and his fellow Marines. It's as if Kubrick wasn't sure his themes of dehumanization and brutality have been slammed home enough. But believe me, they have. Still, "Full Metal Jacket" has to be considered one of the best war movies. Instead of merely focusing on the action, it examines the psychology of the battlefield mind. The Marines are close to the edge, and their comaraderie borders on the psychotic. One in particular laments that back home, he won't have anyone around worthy enough to shoot. Very eerie and effective. Standouts besides the amazing Ermey include Vincent D'Onofrio as a dim-witted screw-up nicknamed "Pyle" and Adam Baldwin (from "My Bodyguard" and "Independence Day") as the ultra-mean Animal Mother. One of the most original war films of all time..... The thing I love about this movie is its originality....usually, the soldiers in combat films are nothing but pure actors thrown into battle fatigues, given a gun and told to act. Full Metal Jacket is different...we endure the recruits' pain and suffering through Parris Island boot camp, and live with them during the grisly war....and that's why FULL METAL JACKET brings you close to the real thing. But anyway, on to the storyline and so forth. The plot involves a young Marine recruit, Private Joker, who gets through Marine Bootcamp by excelling in everything possible. He is then thrust into Vietnam as a journalist....and it is in Vietnam that he always complains he "never sees enough action." Well, the "action" comes to him, but he soon discovers it is not all fun and games. Though Modine's narrative can be a bit flat and one-sided at times, the acting in this film is absolutely superb. Also, I have noticed in war films that the U.S. Marine Corps always seems to be left out. Well, FULL METAL JACKET almost glorifies the Marine Corps, and you don't see too many movies that give the USMC a lick of respect (that they completely deserve). I should also comment on the military accuratness of this film....all the moves are right, no one ever seems to be out of step in marching formations, and, according to my father, a Vietnam-Era Marine Corps veteran, the harshness of bootcamp....and especially the portrayal of the Drill Instructor, is exactly how it was (is). Another great thing about FMJ is its dark tones, that last from beginning to end. The deaths in this film are very graphic, and Stanley Kubrick puts you in a hell (making you feel as if you were there) that you want to leave right away and escape the horrors of war. That's what makes FMJ a very powerful movie. A nice touch was the eerie ending, and the classic Rolling Stones song at the end (the name escapes me). The only thing unrealistic about this movie is that Private Lawrence "Pyle" never lost any weight, in fact, he looked as if he gained a few pounds. Any Marine will tell you that the "fat kid" in their boot camp platoon left basic training a fit, ready-to-kill war machine...I guess Pyle's lack of weight loss goes to show us that the catering provided by FMJ's producers was very good! All in all, though, a graphic and moving film that leaves you a bit shocked and a LOT entertained...it should be in everyone's collection. Buy Full Metal Jacket at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Full Metal Jacket Search with the Priority Search Engine on Full Metal Jacket This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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