First half great, second half disappointing. (SPOILERS PERHAPS)

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 2003)

This film disappointed me as the first half showed extreme promise but failed to deliver when the actual Vietnam fighting began.
Lee Ermey's performance is among the greatest in any movie ever as the drill sargent Hartman, and Vincent D'Onofrio's "Private Pyle" was also quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, their screen time is restricted to the first act, and the film never recovers after it leaves them.
Modine is forced to carry the movie the rest of the way. The remaining hour or so is full of scenes that start out great but end up crummy. The conflict with the sniper at the end is well done and refreshing to see Vietnam fighting in a city instead of the jungle, but in the end i feel unsatisfied.
This movie might have been one of my favorite movies if the second half had worked out as i expected it to judging on the excellent first half. Ermey's scenes were so side-splittingly hilarious that i would judge the film as two shorts: #1 - 9/10 and #2 - 5/10.
in all, i give it a 6/10