Review of Full Metal Jacket (1987) by Facebook U — 22 May 2014

A strangely hypnotic film. The uniformity of boot camp and the lack of effect most of it has on actual warfare is on full, blunt display in "Full Metal Jacket," and it makes for an extremely intense experience.

There's also quite a lot of humor throughout, but the further the film progresses, the dirtier the jokes feel. I know a lot of people consider this to be an anti-war movie, and I don't disagree.

But instead of preaching the beliefs of the filmmakers throughout, events are simply shown and the audience is responsible for deciding how they feel about it all. I don't even know how I'd go about recommending this movie, because while I really like it, there's such a wide range of tones and atmospheres that I wouldn't know how to describe it as just one package.

And it really should be quite jarring with all the tonal shifts, but all of it manages to flow together and feel coherent. A satirical war drama is how I imagine it could be most effectively described.