Lee Ermey should've got an Oscar

Rating: Null/10 (6 February 2004)

( possible spoilers )
The 2nd half of this movie is quite good, but doesn't compare with the 1st. In fact, few sections of any movie do. Anyone who's ever experienced "basic training" will know what I mean :) Lee Ermey is brilliant and utterly terrifying in his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann & I'm amazed (even angry) he wasn't at least nominated for an Oscar. I've heard many folks say what a wonderful job Stanley Kubrick did in recreating Vietnam just outside London. I'd agree with that, but, his version of "Parris Island" is excellent too. I'm sure the USMC training depot is actually an old RAF (Royal Air Force) station. Most of our RAF stations were built in the 30s and 40s and (unlike the americans) we gave them solid flat concrete roofs to protect the occupants in a surprise Luftwaffe raid. "Not many people know that" :) I also recognised the RAF street lights and those quaint little round windows in the brick buildings. I dunno why the basic training wasn't filmed in the USA, but that doesn't 'detract'. It was a stunning recreation. Without giving away any details, the tension in the 2nd half of the film is palpable and having a female actor play 'the sniper' was a master-stroke. I've heard that Kubrick was a perfectionist and very demanding of his actors, so I'm sure the various punches and slaps inflicted on Pile and Joker were real. Ouch !! Yeah. Excellent. My only criticism of the movie is that the characters (except for Hartmann and Pile) don't have much 'depth' to them. I never found myself rooting for Joker or hating any of the others. It's WELL worth watching.