Movie Review: Full Metal Jacket

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: R. Ermey Lee, Matthew Modine, Vincent D'onofrio, Arliss Howard, Alec Baldwin
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford (Screenplay) Based on the Novel "Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford
Film Distributor: Warner Brothers Productions.
Year: 1987




PLOT SUMMARY:

"I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor!" The lines of R. Ermey Lee are just as memorable as the movie itself. Stanley Kubrick's famed war epic takes many movie viewers where no war movie has ever taken its audience before: Basic Training where it all begins. Where the new recruits themselves are torn apart and dehumanized in an effort to remake the raw recruits into killing machines.

The film starts off with everyone being shaved bald as though they are now undergoing the process of dehumanization. Moments later, we are introduced to Sergeant Hartman, played by R. Ermey Lee, who begins telling the recruits that from that moment forward, they are no longer human beings but instead, as Hartman puts it,
"Unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit" as Hartman is there to weed out those who simply do not meet the expectations of the Marine Corps.

As Hartman is continuously belittling the Marine Recruits by taunting them, attacking their masculinity, and giving them nicknames like Cowboy and Snowball, Private Joker makes his appearence here by speaking out loud that provokes the anger of Hartman. It is here we are introduced to the main character of our film. After being reprimanded by Hartman, Joker is reminded that Hartman has "his name and his ass".

Gomer Pyle, played by Vincent D'onofrio, is also introduced at this point and becomes the focal point of the dehumanization that most recruits endure in basic training. Hartman first begins attacking the overweight Pyle by asking questions about whether or not Pyle "sucks dicks" and then comment that Pyle could "Suck a golfball through a garden hose." Apparently Pyle seems to find the entire ordeal funny as he has a funny look on his face. After Pyle fails to remove the silly grin, Hartman orders Pyle to choke himself.

For the rest of Act 1, the movie features our characters enduring the physical conditioning of Basic Training like running and obstacle courses, as well as the occasional belittlement put upon them by Sergreant Hartman who tells them that "Their days of finger banging Miss Mary Jane Rotten crotch are over". Pyle it seems has trouble telling left from right as he gets mixed up and he also isn't able to do most of the physical work. Causing Hartman to make him into an example of those who don't meet up to the standards of the Marine Corps. As for Joker, he seems to be the only one who has somehow retained his identity and manages to take a hard slap for denying the belief in the Virgin Mary. As a result of his tenacity, Joker is made into Platoon Leader by Hartman as he is impressed. Joker also has one more assignment: To help Private Pyle in his training process.

For the most part, Training goes well with Pyle gaining some degree of confidence. However when Hartman discovers a contraband doughnut within Pyle's belongings, Hartman now begins a system of collective punishment every time Pyle screws up. As payback, the rest of the Platoon engage in giving Pyle a Blanket Party. From there, we see Pyle undergoing a change as he becomes increasingly withdrawn from reality, causing Joker to notice as Pyle begins talking to his gun, whom Pyle has named Charlene. We also see Pyle eventually finding something he is good at: Shooting his gun. This becomes evident later on when Pyle finally snaps.


Act 2 takes place in Vietnam, we now see Joker as a Military Journalist who has been given the assignment of joining a group of Marines who are situated in the front. Joker at this point is reunited with his friend, Cowboy, from then on, the movie becomes very much like a stereotypical Vietnam War movie, complete with bombed out buildings, Vietnamese hookers, and the Vietcong. Animal Mother for instance, a character that Joker and Cowboy meet up with, is the stereotypical soldier who has belts of bullets across his chest and carries a giant machine gun complete with a tough soldier mentality.
I do not want to give away anything else as this movie is a complete classic in every way imaginable. Kubrick has taken the concept of a war movie and made it more than just soldiers shooting each other and things exploding as Kubrick explores what turns a raw recruit into a ruthless killer. Most war movies seem to ignore that, yet Kubrick chooses here to explore it and exploit it.

While I do rate Full Metal Jacket very high on my scale and a classic worth watching, there are some issues I have with this movie that mainly relates to the character of Private Pyle. For one thing, at no time does anyone, with the exception of Joker and perhaps Cowboy, notice that Pyle is becoming more and more withdrawn. Perhaps the recruits were to busy focusing on becoming a Marine to notice. Either that or Pyle kept his descent into madness by keeping to himself and concealing it. Whatever the case is, Pyle's descent into madness could have been prevented had someone, anyone have gotten him any form of help.

OVERALL SCORE: 9

I give Full Metal Jacket a score of 9. This movie has just about everything worthy of being a classic: A moving plot and strong, believable characters as we see what makes them become killers. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves more than a good war movie, but a movie with emotional depth and a story that is more than about warfare. However, my main gripe concerns the character of Pyle and how his descent into madness could have been prevented, but wasn't. Regardless, this movie is a classic you don't want to miss!