To me, this movie is perfection.

People are voting emotionally.

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I had the pleasure of meeting "Gunny" Ermey at a Marine Corps Ball. The intensity that he brings to his character on screen was matched in real life. Though Drill Instructors are not allowed to cuss or hit recruits anymore the details of training that have been shown are a great reminder of what a person has signed up for.The Vietnam War description could hold true for many Marines, but in the end this is just a movie. As we watch Joker progress through his training into live combat we are reminded of how little we knew of Vietnam and what war is really like. The location that the movie was filmed, MCRD Parris Island is as advertised. The exception is that they finally demolished the old wooden WWII barracks that were used.I recommend this movie to anyone, but especially as a prerequisite for those choosing to join the ranks of the United States Marine Corps.Semper Fi!

I suppose your assessment of Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket depends largely on how you see the relationship between its two halves: the first set in a South Carolina training camp where a group of newly-recruited Marines are belittled and terrorized by their drill sergeant; the second following a couple of the characters to Vietnam, to be belittled and terrorized by the war itself. The first time I saw the film, the transition seemed jarring, but over time I've come to see it as validating the sergeant's tactics as much as damning them. Of course his relentlessness makes them tougher, but Kubrick pushes the abuse into the realm of twisted poetry and mythmaking, into an exercise in fictionalizing oneself (no one ever gets called by their real name) and then wearing that fiction like a full metal jacket. If Matthew Modine's character "Joker" copes best, it's perhaps because of his head start on such a project with his dumb John Wayne impersonations and smart mouth. In Vietnam, working for the Stars and Stripes newspaper and chafing at its mediocre reporting values, he craves greater engagement, then gets a dose of it, and in his final voice over is retreating back to the imagined, to the world of the sergeant's invented "Mary Jane Rottencrotch," and thereby finding a measure of peace, even of satisfaction. Given time, he might retreat even further, maybe into a photograph as at the end of The Shining; the interiors in the first half of Full Metal Jacket often feels like it might have been shot in some of the back corridors of the Overlook Hotel, and the second half might just be taking place inside a more cunning and noisy metaphysical maze. Whether it's an "anti-war" film seems somehow like the wrong question; any attempts even to engage with it - as in Joker's simultaneous wearing of a peace symbol and a "Born to Kill" slogan on his helmet, explained as some kind of comment on the "duality of man" - seem draining and futile. As such, the film, even if it's not one of Kubrick's very best, is an astounding exercise in strangifying.

This is an excellent movie, for a while. R. Lee Ermey gives a riveting performance as the arch typical drill instructor, Sgt. Hartman. Ermey's performance should have earned him an Academy Award. In fact, it can be argued that Ermey's presence makes this movie special. Out side of that, the movie falters. Sgt. Hartman states clearly at the start that his order is weed out those who cannot hack his beloved Marine Corps. That means finding the bad apples. Yet, despite all his threats and abuse and blustering, nobody gets weeded out. The story line contains huge holes. First, regarding Gomer Pyle. Pyle fails at everything, yet Hartman does not flunk him out. Instead, he employs terror to try to get Pyle, a hapless screw up, to comply. Nothing helps, yet Pyle makes it. Boot camp has taught him only one thing: how to kill Hartman. Second, the story abruptly switches to Vietnam. The troops are cynical, demoralized and dysfunctional. They lack unit cohesion and esprit de corps. However, the story fails to explain the cause of their malaise. Joker, another bad apple from boot camp, is still in the Marines. Third, the character Animal Mother. His presence in the story is seems to make no sense, except that he is yet another bad apple that the Marines never weeded out. He's just more overtly anti-social. This entire movie depicts the military as a sham. Tell that to those who actually serve.

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.