The Best Anti-War Film in History!

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 1999)

When I talk about "Full metal Jacket", I guess I should clarify something. It perhaps isn't the best war movie ever made. Certainly, if you're looking for combat realism, Platoon is the sure bet. I think that it is the best movie about war (in general)ever made. I put it above other war movies because of its skill in delivering an anti-war message; it never presents any redeming qualities about war. In this film, war is just wrong, and there is nothing glorious or glamourous about it.
Most war movies are anti-war in a sense, but a great many of them view war as necessary or unescapable, and those that go and fight in wars are glorified as heroes (patriots to their country). Heck, they fought for their country, right??? This is very apparent in films like "Saving Private Ryan". This is one of the major problems that I feel the film has. It sends a contradictory message. On the one hand, it illustrates in gruesome detail how horrible it is to be in battle, but yet at the same time there are a number of times where the American Flag is plastered across the entire screen. The movie redeems itself so that audience members come out of the theater feeling comfortable. If a movie is to be a truly anti-war film, then people should not leave the theater feeling happy. Don't get me wrong, I liked "SPR" even though I am not am not a Spielberg fan, but I honestly think that it would have been more effective if it had been done as a documentary only showing the first half an hour. I have never been anywhere near a war, but in my opinion the opening sequence of "SPR" looks pretty real. This sense of 'redemption' does not exist in "Full Metal Jacket"; its as anti-war as anti-war movies get, and for that I respect it greatly.
I also enjoyed the opening sequence of the soldiers being trained, by Sgt Hartman (Lee Ermey). This portrays the training process of marines as raw exploitation of human beings. These men have almost every aspect of their humanity torn away from them. Essentially, they become machines, killing machines. Numerous times in the film it is stated that the marines want"killers". When Private Joker (Mattew Modine) says that he wants to go into military journalism, Hartman's response is "you're not a writer, you're a killer!"
I have said that "FMJ" is the best movie about war in general. Films like "Platoon" or "SPR" are specific to certain wars, being WWII or Vietnam. "FMJ" is set in Vietnam, but Kubrick's ideas about war can be applied to war in general. That is where I feel that the true genius of this film lies. Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" can also be seen in this respect.