Certainly entertaining and polished, but no Apocalypse Now

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2004)

A film by the legendary Stanley Kubrick is always going to be worth viewing, but by his own standards, this is just nothing more than good.
Matthew Modine is Joker, a new recruit in the US marine core. War has broken out in Vietnam and new soldiers are being taken on with more velocity than before. However, rather than just immediately taking us on a trip through the battlefields, Full Metal Jacket starts at the very beginning where new blood is trained and abused, and readied for the harsh realities of war by their gunnary sergeant Hartman. Wickedly played by Lee Ermey, Hartman's dialogue is nothing short of fantastic, almost legendary, and while there's a touch of the overblown drill sergeant stereotype about him, his sheer entertainment value more than compensates.
His job is to sort these young men out and train them for battle. Modine's Joker is the one to show a touch of 'spunk' and as such earns his name, not to mention Hartman's respect.
Anyway, events take us to Vietnam and where Joker's stationed after induction. As part of a war newspaper, he along with his photographer colleague Rafterman go out to where the action's hotting up. Before too long, war truly breaks out and he finds himself in the thick of it all.
That's as much as I can say without entirely ruining the plot, so I'll halt there.
The one thing which stands out here is the sheer feel of Kubrick. His movies all have the hallmark of his touch, and it's in absolute evidence here. From the dynamic moving cameras, to the slightly surreal ambiance at times, it has all his trademarks.
However, one thing which perhaps is lacking is powerful acting. Modine is pretty staple, and the rest of the players are merely 'there'. Only the gunnary sergeant and Pile are truly impressive and genuinely strong characters.
There is also a lack of soundtrack to aid the flow of the story. Perhaps Kubrick felt music wasn't totally suited to this but somehow the empty score detracts slightly.
The direction is obviously top class, with some stunning cinematography and amazing shots. Many of the scenes are truly involving such is the clarity and intimacy of how the movie is captured. You really feel part of this one.
Furthermore the plot and script is really strong, with an extremely well constructed picture in evidence - it's completely believable and never expects you to suspend your disbelief at all.
However, for all its technical mastery and strong narrative, there's an overall lack of genuine punch. Apocalypse Now, for example, leaves you reeling and Full Metal Jacket doesn't really smart like it.
While it is a good film, a good war film, it's perhaps not quite the engaging and thought provoking piece of cinema that Kubrick's other efforts were.