Rating: 
Summary: Kubrick Had His Duds, Too
Review: ...and this is one of them. People wouldn't defend this film so zealously if it had been made by someone other than Kubrick, but his cult of enigmatic personality drives many to believe that he could do no wrong. You'll see a similar blind loyalty to Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."This is NOT "one of the best war movies of all time"...that's silly. It doesn't even approach "Patton" in terms of character, nor does it rival "Tora Tora Tora" in scope. "The Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now" are both superior psychological dramas, and "Saving Private Ryan" does a better job of portraying the simultaneous heroism/obscenity of battle. What you do get with "Full Metal Jacket" that you don't get with those other films is Kubrick's trademark pessimism about human beings, which is neither insightful nor particularly interesting. But then most people these days think that good art expresses only one thing--nihilism. At his worst, Kubrick fed that mistaken belief.
Rating: 
Summary: short & sweet
Review: don't worry, this is not another one of those long, boring, meaningless not so desriptive reviews.....instead, i'm gonna make this short & sweet and to the point.....i own this DVD, and a big part about being a succcessful dvd collector's is determaining which movies are worth buying and keeping and trust me when i say this people....."FULL METAL JACKET" is definitely worth keeping....to my own personal opinion, FULL METAL JACKET has got to be the greatest war movie ever made, but don't get me wrong, there has been quite a few really great one's just recently released....Pearl Harbor....Black Hawk Down...We Were Soldiers....and i'm almost positive that the upcoming WINDTALKERS directed by the famous renound action super director Jon Whoo starring Nicholas Cage will be one of the best this decade.....but all these movies lack ONE major ingredient, "the roots" of war....all great soldiers come from SOMEWHERE, and "fullt metal jacket" shows you exactly where to find them, this movie is my all time favortie and would recommend it to ANYONE.....whether your a collector or not, and even if it's not the LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR'S SET, the movie stands on it's own...a solid 5 star rating! without a doubt...WHOA!
Rating: 
Summary: Do you talk the talk?
Review: Another great war movie, they even let us watch this in Marine bootcamp for Christmas. Skipping past that, it really brings out the madness of war, getting radio commands from someone far away that make no sense to those on the ground and under fire. How quickly civilians could turn into VC, the boredom between chaos, lots of aspects of war are covered here that you'll never find in the Bruckheimer-Simpson garbage. Moving flick, no Platoon, or Apocalypse Now, but one of the great war films.
Rating:
Summary: The violence feels real, both physically and mentally
Review: Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this 1987 film packs a terrific wallop as it follows the dehumanization of marine recruits as they are first prepared for Vietnam and later sent there. As in other Kubrick films which deal with the dark side of human nature, there's a voice-over narrator and some extreme closeups, particular one called "the glare" in which a character tilts his head slightly down with his eyes looking up. The title itself refers to a shell casing, a metaphor for the tough hollow fighters that these men will eventually turn into. And from the first scene, which is that of an off-camera barber shaving the heads of the recruits, we see their depersonalization as their hair, which once made them unique individuals, is shaved off. Boot camp takes up more than half of the film, with R. Lee Emery, a former marine sergeant himself, cast in the role of the drill sergeant. His creativity in insults and curses is amazing as he prods the weak spots of the men under his command, especially the chubby misfit he labels "Private Gomer Pyle", played brilliantly by Vincent D'Onofrio who won a Golden Globe award for his performance. Aggression is glorified, with serial killers used as examples of excellent marksmanship as the men are taught to worship their rifles, which they treat as objects of love and recite scripted allegiances to them. It's not surprising when this training results in an act of violence. The scenes that follow in Vietnam are not as strong as the earlier ones, but clearly show how the training both saves the men's lives and dehumanizes them. Short, episodic scenes set the stage for the final one, where we see the men have come full circle from the recruits they used to be. And when they are finished with the battle, war weary and left with the visions of some hard choices they have had to make, they march back to base singing a popular child's song, in which they spell out the words "Mickey Mouse" to a familiar tune. The resulting effect is chilling. The video moved fast, holding my attention in an iron grip. I was fascinated and horrified and couldn't keep my eyes off the screen as it bolted along. I felt the agony of the boot camp experience, especially for the misfit, and the horror of Vietnam, including what it must have been like for the Vietnamese. The film made a statement about inhumanity loud and strong. Clearly, it was one of the best war films I've ever seen. The violence is real, both physically and mentally. Highly recommended, but be prepared for discomfort.
Rating:
Summary: Quite Possibly "The Greatest War Movie Ever Made"
Review: If not the best film about war in general, then "Full Metal Jacket" is undoubtedly the most vivid and realistic (if not sometimes disturbing) portrait of the Vietnam War. Based on the novel by Gustav Hasford (who also co-scripted) "The Short-timers," the film follows an everyman, nicknamed Joker (played by Matthew Modine), from the hell of bootcamp, then to life as a military journalist in Vietnam, and finally to life in combat.
"Full Metal Jacket" contains the most realistic bootcamp sequence of any Vietnam War film, depicting the spiteful Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (the infamous role of Ronald Lee Ermey) and his cruel treatment of the Marines--particularly that of an overweight slip-up (Vincent D'Onofrio) cruelly nicknamed Gomer Pyle by the unbearable Sergeant. The film truthfully depicts how the recruits are trained to think (to kill). The descent into homicidal madness of Private Pyle is one of the most disturbing and unforgettable, yet unfortunately realistic, aspects of the film. In country, we meet even more soldiers who proudly dub themselves killers, grimly bringing to life Vietnam the way it truly was...without turning the entire film into anti-war propaganda. The image of a helmet with "Born To Kill" written on it with the contradictory peace symbol is the classic physical basis for the "Duality of Man."
"Full Metal Jacket" is the greatest war film of all time, not only because of its harsh realism, but oddly enough, because of what it does not attempt to be; glory films full of long speeches and cliched character studies. Truly contradictory in itself, one of its strongest qualities. Sheer brilliancy.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time
Review: Ugh i was so mad! I thought it was going to be a good funny yet serious movie, but it was horrible. First when i was watching it i thought it was about the fat guy then all the sudden its about the journalist, what the heck i didnt follow that story. It should have just ended right when boot camp was over.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic action and provoking performances.
Review: A great movie for those of us who want more 'real stuff' on-screen when it comes to war movies. As a combat veteran, I am tired of the usual 'go for glory' dribble fed us by Hollywood and called war films. In real life combat, nice guys get hit and killed on a daily basis. (Some times it may be a squad leader or your best friend, but some-one has to step in and take his place no matter how hard it might be to see some-one you love like a brother fall). This movie shows how and why average young men are trained and sent to do what others do not want to do, in places others do not want to go. This film mirrors, somewhat, my experiences both in training and combat. A 'must see' movie for those who want insight into real life and war.
Rating:
Summary: Superb, Surreal View Of World Of Combat
Review: I was stunned by how well this movie was transformed into the DVD format, and was once again impressed by just what a masterpiece the movie itself remains. Compared critically to the painstaking accuracy and realism portrayed in Oliver Stone's "Platoon" or the larger context of the war Stone provides in "Born On The Fourth Of July", "Full Metal Jacket' is a failure. Yet, when viewed as an attempt to provide the viewer with an authentic trip into the surrealistic, maddening, and hyper-macho world of Marines in combat, it is a stunning and unforgettable portrait of the futile, horrific, and insane nature of modern warfare. This is in ded a riviting portrait of life lived moment to moment, time stripped of all external meaning, a terrifying voyage into a nightmare world where one kills because one has to kill to stay alive, and to keep one's buddies alive in an effort to live up to the idealized albeit incredibly brutalized notion of what it means to be a Marine. Matthew Modine is superbly cast as a thoughtful and intelligent young man trying to essay his way through the crashing surf of a treacherous and unpredictable tidal wave of blood. Trapped by both naivety and curiosity about manhood, war and life, he enlists in the Marines, soon suffering along with the company of recruits under the merciless resocialization effort called recruit training under a tough and sometimes brutal drill instructor. The violence that results is an introduction to just how successful the training is in indoctrinating callow young men into trained killers. No one misses a beat as the scene suddenly switches to downtown wartime Saigon, and a hooker shashaying her sultry way toward Modine and a buddy. From this point on, the viewer is constantly subjected to an unceasing tirade of the senses, from the crazy, x-rated sick humor of the young men to their stumbling efforts to cope with a situation hopelessly out of control to their attempts to hide their moments of terror and reservations about the insanity they are participating in. The last half hour of the movie is absolutely gripping, and the scenes of combat are enough to make old grunts suffer flashbacks. This movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on a novel called "The Short-Timers", is a full-tilt look at the maddening excesses of war. I recommend you steer youngsters away from this. In my opinion, it is just too violent, too brutal, and too graphic for them to experience. Otherwise, I recommend it to most grownups as a worthwhile way to get an authentic, if stylized, look at the nature of modern combat
Rating:
Summary: Full Metal Synopsis...
Review: In true-to-form Kubrick fashion, here is another graphic, disturbing and wholly controversial film.
Think of Vietnam movies, and it's a near certainty that Apocolypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket will spring to mind.
Set in two episodes, one in a Texas boot camp, the other in Vietnam the film has little actual plot. It could certainly be argued that the film is disjointed, almost directed on the spot. However, it's compelling.
Overall, it's a true depiction of the depravities of war. Whilst not in the same league as Saving Private Ryan, it's bizarre camera angles, unrestrained violence and gore combined with plenty of black humour serves as an intense thought provoker. This film is one which seems to question the very nature of United States involvement within Vietnam.
Rating:
Summary: Best war movie ever BUT DON'T BUY THIS DVD!
Review: Wait for Warner to wake up and issue a widescreen version. It's hard to believe Warner still gets away with its sleazy practices. With the exception of a few 'special films" (like Dr. Zhivago), Warner consistently delivers the absolute LEAST they can get away with: A handful of chapter selections, lousy transfer quality, (...), a dearth of extra material (often none at all), and most annoying: full-screen only format (which loses about a third of the picture). I sometimes buy these Warner rip-offs accidentally. (...)
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