Excellent movie, consists of three separate "parts" with a similar message

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2015)

There isn't a lot about Full Metal Jacket that hasn't been said, but I can absolutely recommend any movie lover to watch this movie. It's excellent.
I just want to talk about the separate parts of the movies. Usually what people say is that the movie consists of two "halves" and people say they enjoy the first half more. Well I have to say I don't entirely agree. I think the movie in fact consists of 3 "parts": the training, the everyday life in Vietnam and last: the actual fighting. The latter two usually get grouped together. In fact the three parts are all divided by a scene with the soldiers buying the services of a prostitute. It's what the second part starts and ends with.
Every part of the movie is excellent. The first part is the most entertaining by itself, but the second part is the best at setting atmosphere. Finally the last part feels like an "ultimate boss fight" of sorts.
All three parts of the movie have an anti-war message in their own way. The first part obviously is about the harshness of the training, not just the way Sgt Hartman tortures Gomer Pyle, but the whole group of soldiers. Even his best friend, Joker, gets pressured into hurting Pyle. Second part mostly sets up for the third part, but provides a good way of showing how desensitized the soldiers have become to death. Finally, the third part. It's a crucial battle with all soldiers fighting vs one sniper. Without seeing the sniper, it becomes a very scary enemy and assumed to be a man, of course. It turns out it's a young woman, eventually being shot in the face by one of the soldiers. That makes an impact. The Mickey Mouse song at the end is chilling.
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