Movie #64: Full Metal Jacket

Movie #: 64
Movie Title: Full Metal Jacket
Year Released: 1987

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Notable Cast: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard, Kevyn Major Howard, Ed O'Ross

Short Description: A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #83
Ranker.com: #45
Lifed.com: #76
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #52
FlickChart.com: #54



Date Watched: 8/14/2016

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)

Rationale: I don't know if I've seen a movie that has such distinctly divided halves. The first half was the more entertaining of the two, likely because that's the part I was looking forward to watching after having heard many stories about "Gomer Pyle" and Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The transition between the two was something I didn't know about to their fates were quite unexpected. I don't think the combat action in the second half stands out compared to similar sequences from movies like The Thin Red Line or Saving Private Ryan, but it was well executed and as intense as those scenes should be.