Full Metal Jacket

Play trailer

Full Metal Jacket

R

Released Jun 1, 1987

1h 56m

War

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

87 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War follows smart-aleck Private Davis (Matthew Modine), quickly christened "Joker" by his foul-mouthed drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey), and pudgy Private Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), nicknamed "Gomer Pyle," as they endure the rigors of basic training. Though Pyle takes a frightening detour, Joker graduates to the Marine Corps and is sent to Vietnam as a journalist, covering -- and eventually participating in -- the bloody Battle of Hué.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Intense, tightly constructed, and darkly comic at times, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket may not boast the most original of themes, but it is exceedingly effective at communicating them.

Read Critics Reviews

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

What happened to the Kubrick who used to slip in sly, subtle jokes and little editing tricks? This may be his worst movie.

Sep 13, 2023

Full Review

Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

Full Metal Jacket is violent, caustic, ironic, and cold, an amoral object formed from a camera gliding majestically across slow-motion carnage while refusing to blink an eye or shed a tear.

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Herald Examiner

Kubrick is trying to make a movie about madness and chaos, but he won't give in to the chaos.

Aug 9, 2022

Full Review

Branyan Towe

Loud and Clear Reviews

As Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence, D’Onofrio encapsulates the impact that military brainwashing can have on soldiers and their mental health in a way that is better than expected

Rated: 4/5

Jul 29, 2024

Full Review

Andrew Pollard

Starburst

A hard-hitting movie laced with moments of dark humour and brimming with social commentary, Full Metal Jacket is viewed as one of the all-time great war movie.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 24, 2020

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Kubrick had a way of making the audience become invested in the characters of his films and created some truly memorable ones.

Rated: 4.5/5

Sep 22, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

A true classic, this satirical take on the Vietnam war is worth a watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Kevin P

A fantastic satire of the Vietnam War that's hilarious in the first half and harrowing in the second half. R Lee Ermey is legendary as the belligerent drill sergeant. He easily steals the show. He's hilarious and terrifying at the same time with his cartoonist intensity. Every line he says is super quotable and it's no wonder he was a former drill sergeant in real life. The first half is definitely better than the second, but the second half is still bittersweet enough to make this a classic in my book.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

Full Review

Peter W

FMJ follows the Dirty Dozen approach to war films by beginning with the training of "useless maggots" into killer marines. Entertaining though this is, the momentum & focus is quickly dissipated by a "Good Morning Vietnam" interlude before the war action finally arrives. Whilst illustrating the seeming futility & lack of clear military purpose of the Vietnam war may have been one of the director's key purposes, it doesn't make for particularly rivetting viewing until the last 20 minutes of the film when the on-screen tension & brooding industrial soundtrack combine to at least send us all home relatively satisfied by the overall cinematic experience.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/29/24

Full Review

CHRISTOPHER B

Qué gran película, refleja la brutal verdad de lo que viven los soldados en la guerra, locura total.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

Full Review

Will G

A disturbing film at the beginning. Once they got to Vietnam I liked the movie better. Stanley Kubrick is a great director. I like the soundtrack to this film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/13/24

Full Review

Keith B

Unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer the Vietnam half better than the basic training half. Either way, both parts of the film are absolutely amazing. R. Lee Ermy did an excellent job of portraying the Drill Sargeant.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Stanley Kubrick

Director

Matthew Modine

Private Joker (Private

Adam Baldwin

Animal Mother

Vincent D'Onofrio

Private Gomer Pyle (Leonard Lawrence)

R. Lee Ermey

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, Drill Instructor

Dorian Harewood

Private Eightball

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Glory

95%

93%

Glory

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Glory

A Midnight Clear

88%

79%

A Midnight Clear

Watchlist

Europa, Europa

95%

90%

Europa, Europa

Watchlist

The Thin Red Line

80%

80%

The Thin Red Line

Watchlist

Rosewood

87%

83%

Rosewood

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Netflix in April 2022

20 Fresh Movies and Netflix Originals Streaming in December

Young Frankenstein, City of God, Mean Girls, and More Certified Fresh Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime

View more photos

Synopsis

Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War follows smart-aleck Private Davis (Matthew Modine), quickly christened "Joker" by his foul-mouthed drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey), and pudgy Private Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), nicknamed "Gomer Pyle," as they endure the rigors of basic training. Though Pyle takes a frightening detour, Joker graduates to the Marine Corps and is sent to Vietnam as a journalist, covering -- and eventually participating in -- the bloody Battle of Hué.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Gustav Hasford, Gustav Hasford, Michael Herr, Stanley Kubrick
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers, Natant
Rating: R
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 1, 1987, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $42.9M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now