Full Metal Jacket: A quick review of the Stanley Kubrick Vietnam War epic

Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film directed by Stanley Kubrick who co-wrote the script with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford, based on Hasford’s 1979 novel “The Short Timers.” The film stars Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, and Dorian Harewood and was shot entirely in London, England.

Full Metal Jacket is set in 1968 in South Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. There's a lot of debate on the continuity of the 1st and 2nd parts of the film, the 1st of which focuses on the systematic dehumanization of the new recruits, particularly, Private Leonard Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio) who goes over the edge under the harsh treatment of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). The 1st half of the movie is so powerful that it can seem front-loaded and inconsistent with the movie's 2nd act which follows a unit called the Lusthogs and  Corporal Joker (Matthew Modine) who does impersonations of John Wayne and wears a “Peace” button over his heart and the words “Born to Kill” on his helmet, a paradox he describes as the duality of man. 

When it comes to Vietnam War films, the big three are this one, Apocalypse Now (Redux), and Platoon. But Full Metal Jacket stands apart in how graphically it shows the physical and psychological training that goes into programming recruits into soldiers that kill without hesitation. R. Lee Ermey is perfect as Sergeant Hartman who’s tough-love prepares the recruits for the battlefield. On the film's documentary, Ermey admits that Kubrick didn't want to give him the role after seeing Ermey in a 1978 film called The Boys From Company C. Ermey improvised a mock tape of himself belittling recruits and sent the tape to Kubrick who changed his mind and gave the role to Ermey whom he believed to be the perfect Drill instructor and antagonist for Gomer Pyle.

If there is a moral to Full Metal Jacket it’s that war is Hell and to live in it you must become it. Great film. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Well photographed, of course, and tight clocking in under 2 hours. Looks great on DVD and even better on blu ray.