Review – Full Metal Jacket

This is one of my all-time favorite Kubrick movies, and one of my favorite war movies as well. Actually, this is arguably two separate movies with a couple of characters in common. The first section takes us through the harrowing experience of Paris Island Marine Corps boot camp. From there it’s off to Vietnam for an unflinching look at G.I. life in the wake of the Tet Offensive. I particularly enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters; these guys act like real human beings with idiosyncrasies, flaws, in short: personalities. Thus the movie presents war as a human enterprise rather than some mythic, glorious pageant. Just about my only gripe is that the picture contains a number of sloppy continuity errors. Still, that’s a small price to pay for Kubrick’s masterful handling of character, plot and atmosphere. Buy the disc