Rating: 
Summary: Very Realistic Up To A Point
Review: The film is not terribly effective in the second half, but the first half is a very realistic depiction of Marine Corps boot camp, at least as I experienced it in the tail end of the Vietnam War. In that sense, I would recommend the first 40 minutes or so to anyone who ever wondered what boot camp is like.I laughed a lot in the first part because Lee Ermey manages to find an opportunity to repeat virtually every cliche a recruit is liable to hear. In that sense too, I would recommend the first part to anyone going to DI school in the Corps who wants to add something to his lexicon, assuming that they don't already know this stuff. On the other hand, the turning of Private Leonard into a psycho is not realistic. First, because DI's are not stupid, and they can pick out the recruit who is into the 1000 yard stare. Such recruits are normally sent for a psych evaluation and either set back in rotation or discharged. Second, Leonard is such an egregious screw up that he would certainly have been dropped out of his original platoon long before the climax of the film is reached, if only for the sake of the morale of the original platoon. The aim of boot camp is not to turn people into killers. The aim of boot camp is to lead young men to identify with the group: the survival of the _group_ is what counts, not the individual. Without this kind of esprit de corps, it would not be possible for young men to risk their lives without losing their composure. That is the meaning of the DI's last speech, when he describes "once a Marine, always a Marine", because the individual may die but the Corps lives forever. The part of boot camp that seems to go with turning people into killers is simply inculcating discipline. Under stress, you have to learn to obey orders or follow your training: _not_ to waffle around, or consult your "feelings." The second half follows some of these same guys in Vietnam, where several of them screw up and get killed by sniper fire. Unfortunately, it's not impossible that a group of inexperienced privates could have got themselves lost in a built up area, so I guess the events in this part of the movie could have happened, but even so it's not terribly effective cinema. Again, recommended for those curious about boot camp, which is very realistic to a point, but Kubrick utterly ignores the positive bonding of the experience.
Rating:
Summary: 2 MOVIES IN ONE; GLAD THE BEST ONE IS FIRST
Review: I have to agree with many of the more thoughtful reviewers that Kubrick seemed to lose the edge in the 'Nam section. The first part has everything you could ask for (even sex, in it's many varieties, according to Gunnery Sgt. Hartman) but once the 1st half climax leaves you wondering what could possibly top it, the actual combat seems stilted and badly acted. It does not feel like a Kubrick film once they're "in country" although Michael Herr (who also wrote DISPATCHES) tries hard to give the script some authenticity. It's way too quiet during battle scenes and some of the dialogue is atrociously banal. I also think the gratuitous blood spurts from the grunts who are shot up by the sniper took the admiration out of this film. Of course, this may be the point of the whole exercise here but on the whole I believe this may be just a flawed masterpiece but definitely not one of his top films. Anyone who has endured bootcamp and come out of it a bit more mature (if not jaded) can admire and yes, respect Kubrick's vision but the boring 2nd half of this movie does not redeem it. Sorry but Kubrick's BEST war movies are still PATHS OF GLORY and DR. STRANGELOVE.
Rating: 
Summary: Hell and hell
Review: great movie. Most people indicate that the first half is the true movie and the 2nd part falters. True boot camp is the better part of the movie but the realization is that nothing prepares you for the chaos that later ensues. I own this movie now and watch it over again without tiring. excellent acting by thedrill sargeant and mathew modine, vincent donofrio
Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: I bought this movie in a [retail store], not from Amazon. It was just a whim of mine that paid off. What I discovered was a fine, fine film about the confusion and terror of not only Vietnam itself, but of the brutal training of the day. The training was rushed under war conditions, so they had to be harder, sometimes (and in this film, many times) striking cadets. I think I like the training part of the film better, the acting, the tension, everything is very fascinating. So I think it's less a war movie, but a study of people under incredible stress. Some crack, like the spoiled cadet (Vincet D'Onofrio). The drill sergeant, who actually was a drill sergeant in Vietnam, is wonderful (Lee Ermy). It's very poignant. When you finally get to Vietnam, it seems like a whole new world (which it actually was). The humor is very adult. Prostitutes lure American G.I.s more than anything else. When this movie gets to Hue city, the site of heavy, bloody fighting in Vietnam, it is very realistic (despite being filmed in England). This movie is more about the dehumanizing effect of basic training more than anything else. Although the city fighting is less intense then that of SPR, it is perhaps more poignant, because you get to stop and think, (my god, that is horrendous), instead of just thinking, (okay, kill that nazi, oh god, he's got a panzershreck, kill him! kill him). The film is gritty and unfiltered, like SPR. But unlike Kubrick's first war movie, Paths of Glory, this movie is not openly anti-war. When the men off the platoon are being interviewed, the main emotion conveyed is confusion, not outright protest. I really like the part in the film when the two dead men are surrounded by the squad, and the camera circles around everyone. I especially like Animal Mother's (Adam Baldwin) reaction, "Better you than me." No cheesy compassion, just outright "selfishness." But it really isn't. That is what goes through many soldier's minds, even though they do form strong bonds, "If we go out together against that sniper, I'd rather it be you that's hit." A good film. However, it doesn't evoke the same emotion that platoon does, because platoon is so anti war. The horror of Vietnam is not conveyed as well in this movie as in platoon. I recommend it, but please, please see platoon.
Rating:
Summary: I wanted to meet people from another culture.. and kill them
Review: As Pvt. Joker says to the film crew interviewer, only half-joking in his snide and cynical manner. The whole scene of the men being filmed under fire and then interviewed was just one juxtaposition of absurdity in Kubrick's wonderful take on the Viet Nam war. Of course it would take Stanley Kubrick to finally quit the screwing around and show us a real D.I. dehumanizing and rebuilding recruits into killers in a realistic recitation of a Viet Nam era Marine Corps. Boot Camp. Lee Ermey was a D.I. and his Sgt. Hartman profanely ripping a new-one on one Boot after another is a piece of work. And of course, he is brutal to the goat of the platoon, poor fat Leonard (Gomer Pyle), harassing and tormenting him into a homicidal disassociative psychosis. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio are wonderful as tormetor and tormented. Then there are all the other nice Kubrickian touches, such as Hartman using Charles Whitman (the Texas U. sniper) and Lee Harvey Oswald as positive examples of Marine Corps. marksmanship. No doubt is made of the fact that Hartman's job is to desensitize and harden these young men for combat or they will not survive. But, it is a cruel exercise, just as shoving young, mostly teenage Americans into a faraway & confusing war is a cruel exercise. And, it is a thin line, as Hartman & Leonard's fates attest. So, Kubrick gives us the training then takes us to the war. This is not the jungle war, but the war in the city of Hue during the Tet Offensive. It is more upfront then the guerrilla-style jungle combat, but as we see, just as ambiguous in the end in its execution and purpose. Kubrick gives us lots of little touches and anecdotes. One of my favorites, the Col. breaking Pvt. Joker's chops over his peace button using sports metaphors about "getting on the team and going in for the big score". Wonderful. Kubrick doesn't romanticize the North Vietnamese or the Viet Cong either. The long line of executed villagers lieing in a ditch covered with lye, who had been gulled into reporting to and then murdered by the Cong is shown with an effectively quiet eloquence. Cruelty and savagery abounded there. The final conflict, with the entire squad held-up and shot-up and terrified by what turns out to be a teenage Viet Cong girl says more about who and what we were fighting over there than any long diatribe. The entire might of the U.S. forces, best trained and equipped in the world, can be devastated by an AK47 wielded by a determined teenager. Kubrick does not judge these Marines, nor the enemy they faced. He shows the dilemma, and let's us decide the worth of this effort. He shows death on both sides, and leaves us to ask the questions. And the young troops march to the Perfume River singing the theme from the Mickey Mouse Club. Two cultures in collision? Young men in combat somewhere they never should have been sent? Kubrick's camera work and recreation of combat is as good in its way as Saving Pvt. Ryan's was in its way. His sardonic humorous touches are numerous and welcome. His choice and placement of music is, as was always true in his later movies, nothing less than brilliant. Like all of Kubrick's later movies, when I first saw Full Metal, I was a little disappointed. It didn't seem BIG like Dr. Strangelove or 2001. But, I have seen it many times since, and I cannot find a flaw in it. When it starts, I have to watch it all the way through. Stanley set such a high standard, it always seemed a little disappointing when you first saw the later films, but they age well. Now, I think this is another masterpiece of economy and story telling. It says a lot, without preaching. A terrific film.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning work of Kubrickism...
Review: The first half of this Vietnam picture takes place in boot camp and those scenes only last 42 minutes. There is a lot of talk about this film and other war movies, but this is a character-driven masterpiece in smaller way, and it has perhaps the best anti-war plea in the form of Private Pyle and his climatic condition. Ex-D.I. Ermey is no Jack Webb-he is just a whole lot better. A shocking, ironically twisted black comedy that isn't faithful to Hasfard when it doesn't need to be.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie.
Review: This movie is a great movie that deals with how people reacted to the Vietnam war. The way the movie is shot is perfect. Stanley Kubrick expresses the true humanity of war. And really shows "the duality of man" About snowball, he was definately the greatest character in the movie (next to the colonel). It cracks me up every single time when i see that first scene, and snowball is just yelling at the top of his lungs, but he is so tiny, it's hilarious. I wish they had more of him in the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: I LOVE this movie. As an ex-Marine, the first half in bootcamp still gives me the creeps. Stanley seemed to catch the feel of bootcamp perfectly. I can't believe they released the first DVD in mono. I'll be the first to get this one.
Rating:
Summary: War, what is it good for? Great Movies
Review: When Saving Private Ryan came out, it inspired a craze for war. War was a hip again. (But never see Enemy at the Gates). So I guess that's one of the reasons I decided to see Full Metal Jacket. I not going to tell which one was better of the two, but they are both great in different ways. Saving Private Ryan's (SPR from now on) characters were very shallow and stereotypical. The war scenes , of course, were incredible. After that movie, you can compare other war scenes to see if they're realistic or not; as if you'd been in combat yourself. But Full Meatl Jacket was a lot different. For one, the first half of the movie takes place at Parris Island, a boot camp for enlisted men. And this introduces two of the best chraracters in cinema history; right up there with Wolverine, Tyler Durden, anyone in Goodfellas and Guy Pearce in anything. The first, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. This drill insrtuctor is intense, fast-talking, violent, intimidating and very well acted. And he doesn't soften up at the end because he knows his soldiers are unique, beautiful flowers. You'll see other movie's D.I.s and wish for this man to run in. The other character is comically nicknamed Gomer Pyle; real name Leonard. He is obviously a man who does not belong in the Marine Core. He' slow, out of shape, hated by other privates, hated by the Drill Instructor, and never should have left his mother's side. Vincent D'Onofrio plays this character so perfectly that you're convinced that's what he is like. Vincent, being a great underrated actor, is a wonderful character actor (look for him in The Cell, Men In Black and The Player). But the D.I. is convinced he will toughen him up, but not with positive comments and rewards. The climax of this first half is awe-inspiring, and shows the horrors of war which don't even take place overseas. The main character and narrator throughout the movie is Pvt. Joker played by Matthew Modine. He is a humorous character who uses his sarcasm as a cover and a way to point out wars contradictions and satires. He's a strong character who doesn't need to have flashbacks of is best friend back at home. The movie follows him through the Boot Camp and then in the Vietnam War, starting with the Tet Offensive. There are so many characters in this movie, and they are so memorable, that it's hard to choose a favorite. They all seem real, with real emotions and actions. One favorite is Animal Mother; he seems like a war crazy 'animal', but when his own 'friends' get shot down by a sniper, he is intensely moved to risk his life (in my opinion). In this last scene, invovling one enemy sniper, Stanley Kubrick inflicts emotions beautifully. Your always expecting this guy to get picked off, or you call one guy stupid because he will get shot, or you even feel sorry for both the sniper and the Americn G.I's. The music that starts up when they look for the sniper is so eerie and really gives you a sense of what Kubrick was all about(since we all knew him). The very last scene shows a big group of American soldiers walking in the night, singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. It's ironic; you see all these horrible things the men did and said, but they can still sing a corny song in perfect melody, like you and me. In conclusion, Full Metal Jacket is a great movie with scenes and images that will stick in your mind. Even now, so many of its' lines are brutally stolen with out the proper recongniton. So if you want a movie that realistically depicts war and that everyone likes (except the stupid Academy), go see SPR, but if you want a movie that expresses ideas through well-done characters and plot and goes its' own way; get a FULL tank of gas, put the pedal to the METAL, if it's cold, wear a JACKET, and rent that one movie.
Rating:
Summary: War, what is it good for?- Great Movies
Review: When Saving Private Ryan came out, it inspired a craze for war movies in a many people. War was hip again. Of course, Enemy of the Gates came out: a horrible piece of dirt. So, that's the reason I saw Full Metal Jacket, which in many respects, is just as good as Saving Private Ryan (SPR from now on). I found myself comparing every war movie to SPR, as if I had exprienced war myself. But Full Metal Jacket is very different. Besides from being a different war and different generations, the characters in Full Metal Jacket seemed more effective. In SPR, the characters were stereotypical, merely representations, I think. You could compare the character Upham from SPR to Gomer Pyle (beautifully played by the underrated Vincent D'Onofrio). Gomer Pyle's character is much more dark and disturbing and doesn't find courage in the end. He shows the horrors soldiers suffer without even going over seas. The Drill Sergeant at Paris Island is one of the best characters in cinema history next to Wolverine, Greg Focker, anyone in Goodfellas and Tyler Durden. He is not a D.I. who softens up at the end and really cares for his special, unique soldiers. He is in their face, intense, fast-talking and even violent in order to make them into killing machines. Some say that the first half of the movie in the boot camp is the best part; I say they are either lying or fairy tale characters. The second half that actually takes place in the Vietnam War is wonderful. The movie follows Matthew Modine's character Joker through out Boot Camp and in Vietnam. Matthew Modine does a great job as the witty character who is easy to relate with but doesn't have flashbacks of his best friend back home every five minutes. The movie does a great way of showing his alteration without painting it on a billboard. My favorite part of the movie is that they all have cool nicknames. This movie makes the proccess of giving nicknames look really easy. Speaking of nicknames, the dialogue in this movie rocks- meaning really good. It's funny, effective, displays emotions and above all, is realistic. Especially the D.I.'s scenes. When you watch other movies D.I.'s, they seem so fake and a guy who calls men 'ladies'. But the best scene in the movie (in my opinion of course- Amazon), is the last scene which involves an enemy sniper. It's so neat. The character Animal Mother's performance here is superb. Although it's a movie, it still seems heroic. The music that starts up when they look for the sniper is genious. It's so eerie and truly shows who Stanley Kubrick was (because we've all met him). And the very last scene (a big group of soldiers walking in the night singing the theme to the Mickey Mouse Club Show) is awe-inspiring. You see these nem say and do awful things, but they can still sing corny songs in tune. To sum it all up, this is one the greatest movies ever made. You know it's great when so many lines are brutally copied from it without proper recongnition. Some could say it is better then SPR, but I say it depends what mood you are in. If you want realistic war with classical moods, go for SPR, but if you want expressionistic depictions with cool nicknames, get a FULL tank of gas, put the pedal the METAL, if it's cold wear a JACKET, and rent that one movie.
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