Savage and merciless war movie

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2003)

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is a brutal, unmerciful, and fantastic film that harshly depicts the everyday life of boot camp patrons, who later battle in the Vietnam War. Kubrick paints a dark and moving picture of life in boot camp, and just what it's like to live the intense life of a Vietnam soldier. Everything is incredibly done: The casting, the action, the drama, and the realism. But if there's one thing that makes Full Metal Jacket a great film, it's the intensity. This is the kind of film that makes you stop breathing a bunch of times, anxiously waiting to see what will happen. This is so mainly because of the large absence of music, bringing more heart stopping twists and surprises to thrill viewers. Put shortly, this has to be, without one single little doubt, one of the greatest films (war or regular) of all time.
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Full Metal Jacket's plot revolves around boot camp patrons such as J.T. `Joker' Davis (Matthew Modine), Leonard `Gomer Pyle' Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), and Private Rafterman (Kevyn Major Howard) as they go through the living hell of boot camp, led by the fiery Sgt. Hartman (real-life boot camp instructor R. Lee Ermey). Hartman spares no mercy for any of the recruits, but he mostly takes his ferocity and vulgar out on Lawrence because of his struggles and his weight. Things keep getting worse for him, and he gets into more and more trouble with Hartman. However, with the help of Joker, Gomer improves his skills and earns more respect from their explosive trainer. But after all of the recruits have graduated and have been assigned, Joker finds Gomer sitting in the bathroom loading a rifle magazine late at night, even though they're not allowed in there. He has become darker in personality during the training course, and when Hartman comes in and orders Lawrence to drop the rifle, he shoots him and himself.

After boot camp, the movie then focuses on Joker as he starts his tenure in the Vietnam War as a reporter. Joker is sent with other troops such as `Animal Mother' (Adam Baldwin) and Pvt. Eightball (Dorian Harewood) on brutal and heart-pounding missions in Vietnam, including one where he and a small band of troops seek a dangerous sniper amidst a bombed and rubble-laden city. It's scenes like these that leave a lasting impression on you, and when the movie ends you'll be thinking, `Wow. That just blew my mind.' The hilarious and scathing dialogue is some of the best you'll ever hear when it comes to movies. For example (please excuse some of the language):
Hartman: `How tall are you private?' Private Cowboy: `Sir, five-foot-nine, sir!' Hartman: `Five-foot-nine? I didn't know they stacked s*** that high.'
Hartman: `Were you born worthless, or did you have to work at it?'
Joker: `Leonard, if Hartman finds us here we'll be in a world of s***.'
Gomer: `I am in a world of s***.'
Hartman: `What's your name fat-body?' Gomer: `Sir, Leonard Lawrence, sir!' Hartman: `Lawrence? Lawrence what? Of Arabia?'

What more is there to say? Why, Stanley Kubrick deserved every shred of appraisal he received for this incredible masterpiece. Like in most of his films, there are no clichés, predictable outcomes, or likely story lines. It's a different kind of war movie, and it shines like a thousand diamonds. It just has to be seen to be believed.
Hopefully by now I have implied a sense that this film kicks butt. Even though Apocalypse Now is currently the best war movie in my book, this still has to be considered a contender for that title. So go ahead and give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed one bit.
**** out of *****