Kubrick proves he is Master of Irony

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 1999)

Kubrick captured perfectly the essence of the U.S. experience in VietNam in the second half of his film "Full Metal Jacket" in which a well trained, well supplied squad of U.S. Marines are pinned down by a single female Viet Cong soldier. She not only keeps them at bay, but also, seems to torture them by only wounding each Marine who makes a rescue attempt. The irony is that this tough group of fighters could represent the entire U.S. war effort. They had the fire power to crush the opponent but that opponent was more highly motivated, dedicated and willing to make sacrifices for victory. By just wounding the Marines, she uses their dedication for each other against them since she knows they will not leave wounded Marines and one by one they come into her rifle sight.