Review of Full Metal Jacket (1987) by Damian S — 09 Jun 2018

This film is one of the first that comes to mind when thinking of all of Kubrick's masterpieces, and it's not hard to see why. For starters, the setting brilliantly captures the tense atmosphere of Marine Corps training to prepare for war.

This is best demonstrated when looking at the character Leonard Lawrence, better known as Private Pyle. Over the course of the first half of the film, Sargent Hartman, the brutal drill instructor, belittles him for being slow-witted and overall just not prepared for battle.

To make matters worse he decides to punish the rest of the Marines for Pyle's mistakes. This is first seen when Pyle smuggles a doughnut because he could not deal with the feeling of hunger. Hartman retaliates by forcing the entire cabin to do intense exercises, causing them all to dislike Pyle.

Tired of all of Pyle's screw ups, the entire bunk gives Pyle a beating. By each getting a towel, filling it with a bar of soap, and proceeding to hit him in the stomach repeatedly while others hold him down.

After feeling immense pain and realizing that everyone hates him, Pyle loses all emotion and becomes a killing machine. Hartman and the others are very proud of him and all seems well until the next night.

Private Joker, one of Pyle's fellow Marines, hears a noise in the restroom and decides to investigate only to find Pyle loading a rifle. Joker tells Pyle to go back to sleep and put his rifle away or else they will be in a world of shit.

Pyle responds with, "I'm already in a world of shit!", and proceeds to repeat various chants that were spoken on their marches. After hearing all of the shouting Hartman storms in and proceeds to yell at Pyle and belittle him more.

Void of all emotion and thought, Pyle shoots Hartman in the chest, killing him. Realizing what he had done, Pyle spends a few minutes reflecting, only before putting the rifle in his mouth and blowing his brains out.

While all of this is very malicious and depressing, it is very realistic and corresponds to the tense environment of war to the point that it is almost beautiful. The training portion of the film is one of my favorite parts of any movie to this date earning this movie an easy five star rating.

The section that illustrates war in Vietnam is also well made, but is honestly quite forgettable when looking at the first half of the film. Yet, this is still a movie that I would recommend to anyone, whether they typically enjoy films of this genre.