Featured Audience Ratings

• Jonathan H

  
  Kubrick surprisingly only made two films in the 80s . His follow up to The Shining, well-made as it is, is not without certain flaws and is by no means top-drawer Kubrick. However, it is punctuated with incredible moments in spite of its shortcomings, including a grueling opening-act… More
  Kubrick surprisingly only made two films in the 80s . His follow up to The Shining, well-made as it is, is not without certain flaws and is by no means top-drawer Kubrick. However, it is punctuated with incredible moments in spite of its shortcomings, including a grueling opening-act which details marine training at Parris Island and ends with a hair-raising showdown between a grunt and a gunnery sergeant. Also, the film's bloody climax, with its inconclusive clash between the American forces and an enemy sniper, is simultaneously tense, frightening, ironic and meaningless. The story (taken from Gustav Hasford's novel The Short-Timers) opens with a bunch of green marine recruits undergoing military training at Parris Island. The drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) is a ruthless, motor-mouthed loony who relentlessly humiliates and desensitizes his boys, so that when he has finally stripped them of their humanity he can rebuild them as single-minded killing machines. Among the bunch is happy-go-lucky Private Joker (Matthew Modine), and the vaguely ridiculous (and ridiculed) Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio). As the recruits near the end of their grueling training regime, Pyle finally cracks under the strain and kills the gunnery sergeant, before turning his gun on himself. The action jumps forward to find Joker on a tour of duty in Vietnam. He is by this point a military journalist who has seen some pretty unpleasant sights during his time in 'Nam (and is divided by his experiences - notice his Born To Kill helmet and his Peace buttoned jacket). The platoon he is part of becomes involved in a street battle in the ruins of Hue City near the film's climax, where they find themselves pinned down and picked off by a female Vietcong sniper. Finally, after much panic and bloodshed, darkness falls and the marines retreat into the night singing the Mickey Mouse March. Where Kubrick really hits his target is in his depiction of the emotional change within Modine's character, and in his cold and cynical (and authentic) view of the dehumanization that results from being subjected to warfare. Women and children become acceptable targets for the gun-toting soldiers; fear of death gives way to callous indifference; violence becomes normal; horrific deaths and injuries become commonplace to the point of disinterest. No-one in the film can remember the cause they're fighting for or, if they can, they never refer to it. It's just one side versus the other, locked in a costly, savage stalemate, as they enter into violent engagements simply because it's expected of them. The lack of real location work is a problem - Kubrick wouldn't film outside England, so the final gun exchange in Hue City was actually shot in a disused London factory yard, complete with imported palm trees. Also, the film is so intentionally detached from compassion that it becomes hard to relate to anyone in the film. While we're supposed to be shocked by the utter indifference with which people are killed or injured during warfare, the total refusal to present a glimmer of feeling or sympathy makes the film's second half as icily distant as it is bloodthirsty. Full Metal Jacket is certainly powerful and potent, but it really is a tale of two halves. Kubrick's specificity in examining the psychology of the solider is so unrelenting and, dare I say militant; the second half doesn't have the same urgency, which leaves the viewer with a sense of deflation.

• Matthew Samuel M

  
  Weaker than other Kubrick films, Full Metal Jacket is still a good film but drags on without much progression in the plot.

• Carlos M

  
  A powerful and cynical film that portrays with dark humor and acid criticism the dehumanizing side of war. R. Lee Ermey and D'Onofrio are fantastic, stealing the show in the most memorable scenes; even so, the second part never achieves the same level of excellence of the first… More
  A powerful and cynical film that portrays with dark humor and acid criticism the dehumanizing side of war. R. Lee Ermey and D'Onofrio are fantastic, stealing the show in the most memorable scenes; even so, the second part never achieves the same level of excellence of the first half, turning into just another war movie.

• KJ P

  
  This particular film is a hard one to review. To me, it feels like two very different films. The first half is a story about the events leading up to the main war, while developing superb characters and a conclusion to the first act that is breathtakingly brutal. I felt like… More
  This particular film is a hard one to review. To me, it feels like two very different films. The first half is a story about the events leading up to the main war, while developing superb characters and a conclusion to the first act that is breathtakingly brutal. I felt like everything changed once it left the military camp and I may have become slightly less interested, but that does not mean that the second half was bad in any way, in fact, it is brilliant. I guess my major problem with the film is that it never seems to know exactly what it wants to do. At first I thought I was in for a witty war film from start to finish, but that is only the case for the first half of the film. I may be over analyzing, but these are my honest opinions. There is no doubt in saying that I loved watching every bit of this film, and Stanley Kubrick's directing is phenomenal. The long takes and the stellar performances are really what make this film one to remember. Sure the action is great, but that was my least favourite portion of the film. "Full Metal Jacket" is a great moving all around, but it can be a little clumsy.

• Martin S

  
  This was good...I'm not sure why it was good. It's not a story from start to finnish. Things just happen....then more things happen. It's good things but....still.....carry on...

• Zach B

  
  With war films, there are plenty of ways, in my opinion, to go wrong. For starters, most film makers make the film predicable if you already know the history of the war that is featured. Then you have the dull acting with the best being people yelling at each other and firing guns.… More
  With war films, there are plenty of ways, in my opinion, to go wrong. For starters, most film makers make the film predicable if you already know the history of the war that is featured. Then you have the dull acting with the best being people yelling at each other and firing guns. But, once in a while, there comes a war film that changes everything and gives a new perspective to war films. This is where Stanley Kubrickâ(TM)s epic Full Metal Jacket comes into play. Fresh off of directing the horror epic The Shining, Stanley Kubrick directed this little gem after learning of a book called âDispatchersâ? and decided to, instead of making a film about the Holocaust, to make this film. While the production was shaky to the point that production almost stopped, what came out of it is a film that I consider one of the greatest war films ever (next to Kubrickâ(TM)s own Paths Of Glory, Francis Ford Coppolaâ(TM)s Apocalypse Now, and Quentin Tarantinoâ(TM)s Inglourious Basterds). The first thing that makes this film stand out in terms of a film has to be the way the story is told. If one thinks about it, this film has no plot, but instead tells two separate stories: the training of a Marine and fighting in the Vietnam war. While people argue saying that it is all part of one story, that is a tad bit hard to take in when it goes from one scene of them at the end of the first story then, with no warning, goes to the next story without any title cards or cues except for the building around the area and Nancy Sinatraâ(TM)s These Boots Are Made For Walking. Now, with direction, this is not really a stand out for Kubrick. With all of his previous films, he used new ideas that give his film a sense of creativeness. With 2001, it was the special effects. With Clockwork it was the music. Even with Paths of Glory it was the way he filmed the war scenes. Here, the only thing that really made things stand out would have to be the direction of then unknown character actor R. Lee Ermey as the Drill Sergeant Hartman. Not only does Kubrick direct this Sergeant from Hell, but mixed with the acting of Ermey, they set a new standard for military personal in films to the point that his performance has become iconic and parodied to no end. He, truly is, the best actor in the first half of the film. For the second half, nothing really stood out to me in terms of acting. I mean, it has the same wonderful acting that all of Kubrickâ(TM)s films have, but here none of the performance had the same feel. Hell, the entire second half feels different from the first half, but then again that is not so much of a bad thing. Kubrick was known for making his audiences feel isolated when watching his films and with the duo stories, it does that. At one point, you feel like you are watching an inspirational story of a complete moron of cadet. Then it changes to a fight for survive in Vietnam. If Kubrick was intending to make his audience feel isolated, then he accomplished something great here. The only other really good part that stands out to me has nothing to do with the film itself. It has to do with how iconic this film is. I mean, I already talked about the acting of Ermey, but then you also have the soundtrack that made every song beyond popular that was featured in this film from Hello, Vietnam to The Rolling Stoneâ(TM)s Paint It Black. But the best song that was used would have to be The Trashmanâ(TM)s Surfinâ(TM) Bird that would later gain popularity by being on the hit show â~Family Guyâ(TM) while that same show would parody this entire film later on in the series. Almost all of Kubrickâ(TM)s films have become iconic, but none so much as this film. Then again, next to The Shining, this is Kubrickâ(TM)s most mainstream film he made. But, is it his best? No, it is not. But, as a film and a war film it is impressive without a doubt.

• Graham J

  
  Kubrick's war masterpiece in two acts. Filled with great performances and startling sequences.

• Matheus C

  
  A guerra do Vietnã é vista pela ótica de Kubrick em uma das obras mais marcantes já produzidas sobre o assunto. Nascido para Matar é obviamente dividido em dois atos - o primeiro, superior, mostra um grupo de recrutas da marinha sob o rigoroso treinamento fascista do Sgt. Hartman (em… More
  A guerra do Vietnã é vista pela ótica de Kubrick em uma das obras mais marcantes já produzidas sobre o assunto. Nascido para Matar é obviamente dividido em dois atos - o primeiro, superior, mostra um grupo de recrutas da marinha sob o rigoroso treinamento fascista do Sgt. Hartman (em fantástica interpretação de R. Lee Ermey). Algo incomum em sua obra, Kubrick cria um personagem que estabelece uma relação direta com o espectador através do malfadado soldado Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio). Seu sofrimento e sentimento de exclusão preparam o terreno para a segunda parte da narrativa, na qual vemos as máquinas de matar na qual os recrutas foram transformados. Enquanto a segunda metade da película acabe muitas vezes caindo no lugar comum de tantos outros filmes de guerra (propulsionado também pela falta de um protagonista marcante), o desenrolar dos momentos finais é especialmente impactante. A vertente de Kubrick ainda se mostra neutra, mostrando os efeitos devastadores do conflito (mais em termos psicológicos do que físicos), mas evitando criar uma obra condescendente ou moralista.

• Jim C

  
  Full Metal Jacket is one of the greatest war epics ever and its a mind boggling movie by Stanley Kubrick and is one of the few incredible films that defined him as possibly the greatest directors in history. The story is not just another war film, its a film that shows you the true… More
  Full Metal Jacket is one of the greatest war epics ever and its a mind boggling movie by Stanley Kubrick and is one of the few incredible films that defined him as possibly the greatest directors in history. The story is not just another war film, its a film that shows you the true horrors of war and how it changes a man, how it can drive a man insane, and how they deal with the pains and horrors of war, and Stanley Kubrick captures one of the best visions of war I have ever seen, and it truly shows the viewer the risks they take if they ever consider going to war. The cast is genius and great, Mathew Modine is good but I think the real genius comes from R. Lee Ermy and Vincent D'Onofrio are the real genius and are the real performances I will remember when I remember this film. The war scenes are incredible, and what makes them even better is they do not use all these special effect to create a great war film, they just use the tools and knowledge that make it realistic and great. many people claim that the first half of the film is great and the second half stinks, but I disagree, while I found the first half at the boot camp to be much better, the second half shows the real horrors of combat and is true genius, but I just found that other than the film Jarhead not many war films show this great of scenes that also show the pain of training for war. My favorite Kubrick film is A Clockwork Orange, but that is not to say this was not one of his best, and this film is honestly one of the war films that will be remembered until the end of time, and I really think every person who has ever experienced war will find this film even more emotional and great than I did.

• Melvin W

  
  Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke piece o' shit, Private Pyle, or did you have to work on it?  "Born to Kill" Full Metal Jacket was Kubrick's second war film, after Paths of Glory, and it's hard to say which one is more… More
  Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke piece o' shit, Private Pyle, or did you have to work on it?  "Born to Kill" Full Metal Jacket was Kubrick's second war film, after Paths of Glory, and it's hard to say which one is more effective at getting it's point across because both do it with extreme effectiveness. This movie shows how civilians are taken as individuals and shaped into killing machines. The most annoying thing I hear about this movie is; "The first part is awesome, but that second part blows." I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that a good percentage of everyone who thinks that is a fucking idiot. Those people's opinions mean absolutely nothing because they obviously weren't watching hard enough. There is just as much to take away from the second part as the first. The first half of Full Metal Jacket takes place at Paris Island. We watch as recruits are put through boot camp with a hard as nails, foul mouthed, God loving and pretty funny drill instructor. He barks about how he doesn't car if you are black or Jewish because everyone here is equally worthless, then singles a black man out and tells him they don't serve fried chicken and watermelon. Everyone isn't equally worthless in his eyes though because he soon sees a chubby, childlike recruit who he names Gomer Pyle, who is out of shape and dumb. He then starts to slowly tear him down and humiliate him. This half ends with one of the most haunting scenes you'll ever see and Vincent D'Onorfio deserves some serious props for his performance as Gomer Pyle as does Lee Ermey as Hartman.  The second half takes us out of the states and puts us into Vietnam with Joker. The first scene in the Vietnam section of the movie is known by almost everyone, even if they have never heard of this movie. Everyone knows the "Me so horny. Me love you long time. Me sucky sucky;" even if they don't where it comes from. After this we are taken through some propaganda journalism and even a propaganda film within a film. This is where a lot of people start misunderstanding the movie. Kubrick is literally showing the viewer a film within a film. It's pure genius and perfectly executed from the fake death, that many people don't realize is fake, to the interviews where the soldiers talk about how they belong in Vietnam and how the Vietnamese don't appreciate what they are doing for them. Then the movie turns real again and ends with another haunting scene. There's been other great Vietnamese war films. There's Oliver Stone's Platoon and Coppola's Apocalypse Now, both of which are spectacular, but if asked what I think the best is, I'll say Full Metal Jacket. There's no doubt in my opinion that Kubrick is the greatest director ever. Every movie he made is as flawless as movies come. So to day Full Metal Jacket is one of his best is kind of stupid because he didn't make a bad movie. It's kind of hard to say Full Metal Jacket is better than 2001 and The Shining is better than A Clockwork Orange. Every movie he made, he put so much into every little detail. Nothing in his movies isn't thought completely out. Viewers may not get everything out of his movies the first time they watch them and that's what makes them so great. Multiple viewings only make the movie better. You can't just watch his films, you are basically forced to study them and it is a lot of fun to do just that. Private Joker: A day without blood is like a day without sunshine. 

• Lucas M

  
  A shocking and fascinating film. Fresh.

• Richard C

  
  This movie is amazing. A lot of people say the first half of the movie was good and after they leave the boot camp the movie takes a turn for the worst. I dont agree with that at all. The whole movie is amazing and the second half is just as good as the first half. This movie is… More
  This movie is amazing. A lot of people say the first half of the movie was good and after they leave the boot camp the movie takes a turn for the worst. I dont agree with that at all. The whole movie is amazing and the second half is just as good as the first half. This movie is brilliant and it shows the dehumanizing aspects of war and how cruel and horrible war is. One of my favorite horror movies and in my 3rd favorite Stanley Kubrick movie right after 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange. Grade: A

• Kase V

  
  A flawless portrayal of the dehumanizations of war, Kubrick is on top of his game with Full Metal Jacket. This film is a chilling example of the horrors of war. Instead of imagery of glory, Kubrick paints a vivid picture of harrowing adventures of a man and his rifle. Great use of… More
  A flawless portrayal of the dehumanizations of war, Kubrick is on top of his game with Full Metal Jacket. This film is a chilling example of the horrors of war. Instead of imagery of glory, Kubrick paints a vivid picture of harrowing adventures of a man and his rifle. Great use of tracking shots as well as realistic violence have helped place this film as one of the greatest war movies of all time. A masterpiece.

• Kristijonas F

  
  Featuring "the" performance from the iconic R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket is so much more than that glorious first chapter: It is a grim, uncensored commentary on how war changes man - for the better, and definitely for the worse.

• Christopher A

  
  Full Metal Jacket is two hours of Stanley Kubrick brilliance. Split into two halves, we first follow recruits through the trials and tribulations of life in boot camp. Sgt. Hartman is one of the most brutal drill sergeants ever portrayed in film as he ruthlessly attacks his recruits… More
  Full Metal Jacket is two hours of Stanley Kubrick brilliance. Split into two halves, we first follow recruits through the trials and tribulations of life in boot camp. Sgt. Hartman is one of the most brutal drill sergeants ever portrayed in film as he ruthlessly attacks his recruits with physical and mental torture without rest, even listing an assassin and mass murdered as a role model to the recruits. The second half follows a group of soldiers in Vietnam where you learn the horrific truth of war and how despite the nasty taste you are left with after seeing the recruits molded into killers in boot camp, you realise that it was perfectly preparing them for that they had to face in the field. Massacre. Kubrick manipulates the audience into laughter at various points throughout Full Metal Jacket before stopping you abruptly to the realisation that what you are laughing is wrong and in parts sickening. Full Metal Jacket will stay with you for a long time after viewing. The grim face on Vincent D'Onofrio's 'Pyle' at the end of the first 'half' is haunting and 'Joker' executing the injured sniper will play on your mind again and again. Its powerful moments like these that leave you in awe and realise the full horror of war and the effect on those involved. "The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive. "

• Thomas B

  
  Incredible performances all around plus fantastic direction, though it doesn't affect quite as much as it wants to. Full review later.

• El Hombre I

  
  Full Metal Jacket has been unfairly characterized by many as a deeply flawed narrative, a film whose brilliant first act overshadows the "in country" sequences that follow. The unusually impersonal sentiment, which is a Kubrick trademark, doesn't conform to classic… More
  Full Metal Jacket has been unfairly characterized by many as a deeply flawed narrative, a film whose brilliant first act overshadows the "in country" sequences that follow. The unusually impersonal sentiment, which is a Kubrick trademark, doesn't conform to classic genre expectations which map out the well-worn path. It's graphic, well-paced, interesting, almost riveting, and that's remarkable because nothing really happens. They don't take the "big hill", there aren't big issues to be resolved within the platoon by the end of the film, and most certainly leave the viewer wondering if/when Joker will ever leave Vietnam. It's just another day in the war through the eyes of an amateur journalist. It is of the journey and not the destination. If Kubrick's films are about the workings of a mechanism, they lead to an individual converted into a tool in the service of some greater power; for example, 2001's Star Child, A Clockwork Orange's reformed Alex, his violence now to be used on behalf of an oppressive state, The Shining's Jack Torrance, revealed as having always been a pawn of the Overlook Hotel's ghosts, and Full Metal Jacket's Private Joker, whose loss of sensitivity will be what enables him to complete his training and become a killer. Joker's final words, "I am alive, and I am not afraid", might suggest the closing of a trap, the equivalent of A Clockwork Orange's "I was cured all right". <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=fullmetaljacket3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/fullmetaljacket3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Spencer S

  
  Wow. Profanity...there's a lot of it. That's not all I took away from this. There was also violence, sex, death, racism, and fear. You were told to grow up, become a man, and turn what little you had in self worth into abilities that would lead to victory. But war is hell,… More
  Wow. Profanity...there's a lot of it. That's not all I took away from this. There was also violence, sex, death, racism, and fear. You were told to grow up, become a man, and turn what little you had in self worth into abilities that would lead to victory. But war is hell, as everyone knows, so there was little in happiness seen. You observed the truth of Vietnam, but way more impressive, you also saw how far a man can go with just a rifle, and little conscience or ambition. It took a lot out of me to watch, but it gave me so much more.

• Jeff "

  
  Stanley Kubrick now turns his eye to the Vietnam war. Full Metal Jacket is a flawless, haunting portrayal of war. The drama unfolding before your eyes is like no other war film, except maybe for Platoon. Not since Platoon and Apocalypse Now has a Vietnam war film been this good. This… More
  Stanley Kubrick now turns his eye to the Vietnam war. Full Metal Jacket is a flawless, haunting portrayal of war. The drama unfolding before your eyes is like no other war film, except maybe for Platoon. Not since Platoon and Apocalypse Now has a Vietnam war film been this good. This shows the dehumanization of recruit and having them rebuilt as Marines, killing machines sent to Vietnam to kill everything they see, as D.I Hartman says so vividly. Kubrick definitely knows how to capture the caos of warfare, and like Oliver Stone's masterwork Platoon, this is one of the defining films of the Vietnam war. Full Metal Jacket also has an incredible cast of actors on hand, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Matthew Modine and Adam Balwin deliver great performances and are great on screen. This is one war film not to miss.

• Steven C

  
  "Saving Private Ryan" showed us the humanity that can be seen in war. "The Hurt Locker" showed us the lack of communication that leads to war. "Inglourious Basterds" showed us the cheeky fun you can have with the war genre in film. "Full Metal… More
  "Saving Private Ryan" showed us the humanity that can be seen in war. "The Hurt Locker" showed us the lack of communication that leads to war. "Inglourious Basterds" showed us the cheeky fun you can have with the war genre in film. "Full Metal Jacket" shows us the dark and dehumanizing aspects of war. "Full Metal Jacket" may also be the most decidedly anti-war film from a major director. The acting is authentic and at times sympathetic from the cast of Marines and downright devilish from players like R. Lee Ermey. The film is also really well made with Kubrick's classic tracking shots, psychologically complex characterizations, and harsh commentary.

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