Kubrick knows nothing about war.

Rating: 1/10 (3 September 2000)

Speaking as an actual infantry veteran of Vietnam, I'd like to make two short comments about this film.
The first half is excellent. It is an authentic, though condensed, portrayal of basic training. Obviously the presence of a real retired drill sergeant (Ermey) had a lot to do with that.
But then Kubrick's faulty imagination takes over. Starting with the climactic latrine scene and carrying throughout the rest of the movie, this film is total hogwash. I was aghast at the skewed, completely erroneous, just plain wrong depiction of this platoon's actions in the war in Vietnam. Kubrick either had no advisors, or ignored them, when it came to the second half of this movie. I have never seen such a load of tripe.
See FMJ for the first half, and just rewind it and put it back in the box when you get to Vietnam.