Review of Full Metal Jacket (1987) by Ian M — 04 Jan 2017

A typical Kubrick masterpiece, divided into two distinct plot areas. The first half of the film is set at U.S. Marine Corps Basic Training at Parris Island, South Carolina amidst the Vietnam War. The audience is introduced to a variety of draftees who are to be transformed from civilians into killers, at the hands of Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman ( R. Lee Ernst). The second half of the film follows Corporal "Joker" (Matthew Modine), one of the Marines from the first segment as he works as a military journalist for Stars and Stripes, following a Marine infantry squad during the Tet Offensive.

The film is overwhelmingly "anti-war". A major theme in the first segment is the brainwashing of humans to become ruthless killers. The second half seems more disconnected but a strong sense of apathy towards winning the war and a lack of purpose in being there rounds off one of Stanley Kubrick's more overlooked films from his later career.