full metal jacket , very much like every other hard - hitting film about the vietnam war , is an shocking , emotional depiction of the war that effected almost everyone in america .
this film is more like platoon than any other in the way that it chronicles the struggles of a young man ( private joker , played by matthew modine ) during his tour in the vietnam war .
however , full metal jacket gives the audience an insight into combat life very rarely seen before : boot camp .
these sequences are considered to be the best part in this three act film , even though i found the later portions to be equally stunning .
as in platoon , full metal jacket gets off to a quick start .
the opening sequence is the initiation for the recruits , which is getting their heads shaved .
from there , they find themselves standing at attention and receiving their orders from the extremely hard and punishing sergeant hartman , played extremely well by the former drill instructor r .
lee ermey .
apparently , the solution was found for the perfect man to play a drill instructor in the movies , because ermey depicts his character extremely well and will make you thank whomever that you were never subjected to such horrible situations .
private joker gets off on the wrong foot with the sergeant , as does the large bodied private leonard lawrence ( vincent d'onofrio ) , whom is dubbed ' gomer pyle ' by sgt . hartman .
the film is continually narrated by private joker , in which he explains his visions on what is going on .
the entire corps , although repeatedly hammered by sgt .
hartman , continues on .
private pyle , however , seems to be the rag doll for the drill instructor .
he continually absorbs the worst punishment and humiliation , and it basically does not stop .
that is , until sgt .
hartman comes up with a new plan .
he will punish the rest of the soon - to - be - marines for pyle 's goof - ups , even after joker was assigned to help him out in the best way he can .
pyle then receives punishment from his fellow recruits , and things take a turn for the worst .
pyle proves that not everyone is emotionally , physically , and mentally cut out for the life of a marine .
after graduation , joker is sent over to the height of the action in order to document the war , which is his service .
he is not a member of the infantry , and it is unclear if he will ever actually find himself in combat .
when he sets out on a documenting mission , this question becomes very clear from the start .
joker joins up with a platoon , along with his hometown friend cowboy ( arliss howard ) , and follows their everyday actions , interviewing and filmming them along the way .
he also soon finds himself in a position in which he must fight , or die .
again , as in the tradition of vietnam war films , full metal jacket can be debated as to whether it is an anti - war film or not .
a few of the more powerful scenes toward the end will leave you to decide .
full metal jacket succeeds extremely well in documenting the life of a young man in vietnam , as have others in the past .
this film , in different ways , also can be viewed as more powerful than others .
that , again , is up for debate and depends on your opinion .
one thing is for sure , however ; no one ever wants to experience the absolute hell that these soldiers are subjected to .
unfortunately , many did .
can be viewed as more powerful than others succeeds extremely well equally stunning a few of the more powerful scenes these sequences are considered to be the best part