Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Full Metal Jacket seems like 2 great short films rolled into one. The first half is a film about boot camp the second follows a correspondent into urban combat in Vietnam.

The first half is incredible; the boot camp is tense and realistic. But it’s a good thing that it doesn’t last the whole film. I don’t think that it could have been as extreme, they would have had to stretch it out and it would have lost its fast paced action. R Lee Ermey pretty much steals the show in the first half. His performance is impressive and one of the most memorable performances in any war film. Many other characters had good performances as well, mostly Vincent D’Onofrio. His performance starts out seemingly poor. The further his character (Gomer Pyle) gets pushed and the more he starts to look crazy the better performance he gives. Seems like hes better at playing a crazy person than a mentally slow person.

****first part spoiler****

We finish part one with one of the most tense scenes in all of film, with all three main characters giving their best performances. Knowing Kubrick’s perfectionism this scene must have been just as tense to shoot as the final outcome. Pyle snaps, kills Hartman, kills himself and no matter how many times I see it, my jaw still drops. The look on D’Onofrio’s face is incredible, such pain and insanity. It helps make the scene as memorable as it is, one of the greatest facial performances (is that a term?) ever.

****end spoilers****

Just as it seems like the film is over the second half jumps in. moving from tension at his highest straight into Vietnam and a hooker walking to the beat of “These Boots are Made for Walking” A very strange transition that actually works out great.

The second half is still a great movie but not as much as the first half. It’s a lot like your average war movie in a lot of ways but still very distinct. We see much different kinds of characters than the average Vietnam movie. Usually it’s a bunch of hard asses and one guy who doesn’t like what they are doing, while we do see both of those types, we see many others as well. Due to the styles of fighting it’s actually more like a World War 2 film rather than Vietnam because its urban warfare rather than in the jungle.

I don’t have as much to say about the second half. It’s fantastic but nothing that stands out from other great war movies. Great soundtrack, directing, writing, acting, fighting, all of that, just not as memorable as the first half.

****spoilers****

My favorite thing about the second half is that, though they complete little missions, nothing really gets accomplished. It could have ended with the killing of the sniper but that would have made it seem like that was the mission and that finished it. By adding the last scene of the soldiers walking singing the Mickey Mouse song it showed that the war wasn’t over and nothing really has changed for them, or the war. I’m guessing this is probably how a lot of people felt during the war, and even after it.

Kubrick didn’t mean for this to be an anti war film, but by showing the war the way it was, it can’t really be seen as anything but that, in my opinion.

****end spoilers****

Any fan of Kubrick’s work should definitely watch this film. Anyone that’s a fan of war films or really fans of movies in general should not miss this one either. One of cinema's best.

10/10