Directed by:
Stanley KubrickCinematography:
Douglas MilsomeComposer:
Vivian KubrickCast:
Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard, Kevyn Major Howard, Ed O'Ross, John Terry, Kieron Jecchinis (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow Marine recruits from their brutal basic training to the bloody street fighting set in 1968 Hue, Vietnam. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
Analytically, the least stimulating Kubrick, but who cares? Full Metal Jacket is great for the impressive distinctive character of each scene and for its interesting focus, which (as it’s usual with Kubrick) inwardly goes from characters to ideology and from action to consequences. In the opening part, the soldiers are put through hell, but we can enjoy the rhetorical show of a militant freak (Ermey should have got an Oscar for that), while its conclusion will chill you like an icicle; and even the part in Vietnam doesn’t spare much time following the conscience of the characters (rather the opposite: - "How can you shoot women or children?" - " Easy! Ya just don't lead 'em so much!"), and the final debate over the dying enemy is like a kick in the balls for the conscience. One of the best and most chilling (anti)war movies, hands down.
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This is a really intense film, especially the first part, which leaves a big impression on you. It's loud, it's a real drill, but it beautifully shows how crazy the military can be. However, it needs to train people who are capable of killing, who are capable of going into battle and shooting. In the end, it turns out that even so, it is not easy. Even the second part is strong, when you see the soldiers, how everything is completely distorted.
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The green-brain one-man-show in the first act is perfect, but as soon as the plot shifts to Vietnam, the film starts to creak. Actually, nothing important happens during those two acts. There is no deeper thought, nothing that would leave me with an emotional experience, which I would expect from a Kubrick film. Moreover, the "Vietnam" locations are rather unconvincing and Kubrick can't do battle scenes. I know better films about the Vietnam war.
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Stanley Kubrick does attempt to push the boundaries of the genre once again, but it doesn't work out for him in a war film. Despite the surprising first hour, Full Metal Jacket has become by far the director's most unpalatable piece (and therefore considerably un-Kubrick-like), which is killed by the impossibility of identifying with any of the characters.
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The first half is amazing, it has an incredibly fast pace for a war film. Towards the end it relaxes a little, but then the director shows a bit of real war action, so I’m satisfied overall. Kubrick masterfully handles the psychology, which he focuses on more than grand action scenes.
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