The "Saving Private Ryan" of Vietnam

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2005)

Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" does for the Vietnam war what "Saving Private Ryan" did for WWII- create a strikingly (and sometimes disturbingly) realistic portrait of the horrors of war. However, FMJ's depiction of the de-humanizing affects of boot camp and later the psychological effects of war on soldiers (similar to Apocalypse Now) set it apart from many other war films, such as Private Ryan. Matthew Modine and Adam Baldwin give excellent performances of de-sensitized GIs, but the true standout of the cast is R. Lee Ermey as the drill instructor at Paris Island boot camp. Despite the fact that the film was shot entirely in Britain, Kubrick does a very convincing job of recreating Vietnam there, and all aspects of the film are very realistic and authentic. Also unlike other war films, FMJ doesn't focus on the action and violence (which is still very realistic) and instead relies on complex characters to drive the story. Modine's Pvt. Joker is especially interesting, dying to get into action one minute, but once the bullets start whizzing, scared out of his wits.
Bottom Line: an excellent war film, and should be considered one of the best of all time. ***1/2 out of ****