A different kind of Vietnam film

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2002)

Stanley Kubrick's second war movie is divided into two parts. At first, I thought the Paris Island segment was more engrossing. It contains intense acting by R. Lee Ermy and Vincent D'Onofrio, who play a memorable game of "mental chess". The Vietnam segment originally bothered me because it seemed so stagy. (It was filmed on London sound stages). And I thought Matthew Modine was pretty unconvincing. I didn't care for this movie when I first saw it. I preferred Platoon, like many other audiences. But it is interesting that I yearned to see it again after a few years, yet I really have no desire to see Platoon again. The same can be said about the two big Vietnam pictures of the '70s: Apocalypse Now and Deer Hunter. As much as I liked The Deer Hunter, it was more of a statement about the war and a human drama than a work-of-art. Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket are works of visionary filmmakers and have stood the test of time. I now believe that the second half is better, despite my original feelings. Like Coppola's film, it has a surreal quality and its images (Cowboy's death, the background fires, helicopter sequence) are unforgettable. And Matthew Modine's performance grew on me. Another "one misunderstood, now legendary" late Kubrick film.