Year of Release: 1987Country of Origin: UK, USA
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey
Plot outline: Story follows a group of Marine recruits from the harrowing experience of boot camp to the horrifying battlefronts of Vietnam (IMDb).
What can be said about the Vietnam war that hasn't been said already? Full Metal Jacket answers that question, and demonstrates that there is always room for a great movie, even if the genre has already been thoroughly explored. Full Metal Jacket is really two different movies, with Matthew Modine's everyman character bridging the gap. Only three mild criticisms about the first half, which is superior to the second half. Out of the large number of marine recruits, only four (Joker, Snowball, Pyle and Cowboy) have speaking parts. Did the writers think we would get confused with too many characters, or was the producer unwilling to pay extras to speak? Also, Modine frequently does a John Wayne impersonation, which is not very good! Finally, Pyle has a weird character turn that doesn't seem likely despite all the abuse and brainwashing he has received. The second half of the movie has Modine in Vietnam, covering the war first as a journalist and then as a soldier. The early scenes of this second half are outstanding, but when Modine finally sees action the movie declines slightly, though still excellent. War is hell, but in this case not quite as interesting. One observation is that the American soldiers have great respect for the North Vietnam soldiers, but contempt and bitterness towards the people of South Vietnam. This may be due to its corruption, depicted through extended scenes of negotiations with prostitutes, or the notion that South Vietnam was not grateful for the "assistance" of Uncle Sam. Actually, given scenes of a soldier in a helicopter machine-gunning every Vietnamese he sees, of any age or gender, it is clear why the South Vietnamese weren't so grateful! Not the greatest war movie ever, but perhaps the best movie about Vietnam (Apocalypse Now was overlong and lacked necessary focus). (BK)
My judgement: ***1/2 out of 4 stars
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