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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 critic reviews
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Movie Info
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.
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Rating: R
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Genre: War, History, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Stanley Kubrick
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Producer: Stanley Kubrick
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Writer: Gustav Hasford, Gustav Hasford, Michael Herr, Stanley Kubrick
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $42.9M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
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Production Co: Warner Brothers, Natant
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Sound Mix: Mono
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Full Metal Jacket
Critic Reviews for Full Metal Jacket
Audience Reviews for Full Metal Jacket
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Full Metal Jacket is not just about war, but rather the psychology behind it. A smart move from the legend that was Stanley Kubrick. We've all seen many war films, a genre that is well explored from a variety of different conflicts. Full Metal Jacket however chooses to go behind the scenes and focus on the training process that changes well intentioned men into trained lethal killers. You could easily split this in half and have two separate films, the first half being more psychologically charged whereas the latter showcasing the brutality of warfare. A ridiculously serious drill sergeant practically bullying a trainee marine so harshly that it slowly turns him into an unstable psychopath. That right there, was some really good psychology and made the film so much more interesting. Sure the Vietnam War scenes were depicted with a substantial amount of fire, blood and guns but it was the first half that really captivated me. Vincent D'Onofrio was the stand out for me, both convincing and expressive through his face. Matthew Modine was good, probably his best performance. Lee Ermey deserves recognition just for somehow managing to not lose his voice from all the shouting. Characterisation was present, perhaps not fully fleshed out as I would like but was just enough for me to care about them. Yet again though, it's the technical marvel that wins...Stanley Kubrick. His directing style is so damn flawless. The nice clean long takes, actors looking directly into the camera, slow motion deaths (particularly in the sniper shootout)...he is just phenomenal. Script was sharp as well. A great section of dialogue where our lead character wears a peace badge and a helmet that says "born to kill" for which he describes represents the duality of man. That really stuck with me. So whilst it might feel like two separate films (due to that ridiculously quick transition), it's hard not to appreciate everything that's shown to us. Another hit from Mr. Kubrick.
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Born to Kill. From director Stanley Kubrick comes the nihilistic Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket. The story follows a marine as he goes through basic training and does a tour in Nam as a war correspondent for Stars and Stripes. Unfortunately the storytelling is weak and disjointed, and uses randomly inserted voice-over, delivered ham-fistedly by Matthew Modine, to try to tie everything together. None of the performances are especially good, aside from R. Lee Ermey; whose performance as a drill sergeant has become iconic. However, Kubrick's directing is impressive, and features some incredibly evocative imagery. Yet without a compelling story, Full Metal Jackets ends up falling flat.
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People definitely shouldn't take Stanley Kubrick for granted, 'cause every time he says that he wants to make a movie different from his previous one, he always deliver. "Full Metal Jacket" is as different from "The Shining" as two movies could possibly be, and yet they are also similar in some ways. The concept of insanity lures in both movies and are shown in very successful ways both times. The first half of "Full Metal Jacket" blew me away and I enjoyed every single insult that came out of the mouth of Sergeant Hartman's mouth, who were beautifully portrayed by R. Lee Ermey. The second half, however, was a bit disappointing, because it took some time for me to get used to the new warfare surrounding, which wasn't really present at all in the first half of the movie. Matthew Modine is really good in the movie and he is without a doubt the best thing in the second half of the movie. This movie is intense, it's dark and it's very good and can definitely be locked into the vault of great Stanley Kubrick movies.
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The conventional wisdom, that the boot camp section is great while the combat scenes are disappointing, fails to recognize how well the two halves of the movie mirror each other in both violent and sexual imagery.
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