‎Full Metal Jacket (1987) directed by Stanley Kubrick • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Full Metal Jacket

1987 Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Vietnam can kill me, but it can’t make me care.

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Matthew Modine Adam Baldwin Vincent D'Onofrio R. Lee Ermey Dorian Harewood Arliss Howard Kevyn Major Howard Ed O'Ross John Terry Bruce Boa Kieron Jecchinis Jon Stafford Tim Colceri Peter Edmund Kirk Taylor Ian Tyler Gary Landon Mills Sal Lopez Papillon Soo Ngoc Le Tan Hung Francione Marcus D'Amico Costas Dino Chimona Keith Hodiak Peter Merrill Herbert Norville Leanne Hong Duc Hu Ta Nguyen Hue Phong Show All…

Alternative Titles

金甲部隊, Metal Jacket, 풀 메탈 자켓, Nacido para matar, Pelny magazynek, Olovni kovčeg, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Glonţ cu cămaşă metalică, Cara de Guerra, Nacido Para Matar

war drama

116 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Noetic Hatter ★★★★½ 24

For the full extent of my high school years (1988-92), I was a cadet in the United States Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. My fellow cadets and I worshiped the Boot Camp half of this film. R. Lee Ermey was like a god to us, and we memorized all of his speeches. But because we were so obsessed with the Ermey character, we never seemed to watch the second half. We apparently bought into the myth that it sucked.

Looking back now on that Boot Camp half that looms so large in my memory, I find two truths at work: First, it's been parodied so many times since then, frequently by Ermey himself, that it's initially hard to take…
Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★★ 18

There's absolutely no one in the entire history of cinema whom can bring to life one of the most monumental and quintessential examples of a drill sergeant than actor R. Lee Ermey! It wasn't an act of god that set loose such a formidable force of nature upon the world! It was the act of director Stanley Kubrick!

Upon leaving theaters audience members rushed home to examine their backsides as they were convinced Sgt. Hartman had torn them a new one! While others couldn't wait to test out some of the best written profanity laced, testosterone fueled one liners known to all mankind!

The film's greatest strength was the boot camp training sequence! It was the epitome of perfection in its examination of the uber masculinization of war!

While the latter parts of the film which took place in Viet Nam showed signs of promise it came no where near the brilliance exhibited earlier in the film!

Naughty Approved!
Review by Jacob Olsen ★★★★½ 15

This film has always given me a deep sense of unease. This feeling particularly applies to the first part, which takes place at basic training. In fact, I feel that what the recruits are exposed to affect myself directly. The whole film deals with partial degradation of human dignity and the self, but the way Kubrick throws this in our faces already from the beginning grabs me every time.
The haircut-sequence is an important part of this. As before a surgical procedure, the skulls are prepared for the psychological interventions that will follow. Human hair, an important part of who you are, is left behind in a heap on the floor. By completely changing and standardizing appearance this helps alienating…
Review by Matt Curione ★★★★★ 11

Fun Fact: Both halves are great it's just that children lose interest when a man isn't screaming in their face.
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 15

There are only a handful of truly iconic war films and this most definitely belongs among them. It does not merely depict elements of war in a realistic way, it also intelligently critiques and satirizes our species' instinctive tendencies to wage war and the inescapable need for a communal spirit while cyclically purveying an 'us vs them' mentality.

In the first part, perhaps most famous for the foul mouthed genius of Lee Ermy, Kubrick shows us how the cogs are created in the machine that was the Vietnam war. By dehumanizing new recruits, Kubrick shows us the strengths and weaknesses of our race. When pushed, we can achieve anything we want. When thrust together we take care of our own…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 1

85/100

Surfin' bird.

Recent reviews

Review by Coleman Weimer ★★★★½

Truffaut said that you can’t make a war movie without glorifying it— well, Kubrick did (and Malick, but whatever).

Kubrick is not asking us to find morality here, that’s the last thing he wants us to read-in. But it makes sense, cause the US, despight all the years of stammering, still couldn’t read-in a reason for anything that happened in Vietnam.

The third act is very very scarring.
Review by Cjhartley97 ★★★★

Soap can make a dude go insane
Review by Kurtis Smejkal ★★★

Two movies in one. Not a bad idea but not a cohesive project at least not as well as can be done.
Review by jennafay ★★½

the first half of the movie was so interesting and good then the second half i was bored out of my mind
Review by dewerfano ★★★★★

me ha flipado más q la última vez que la vi, hace años.
la localización del final se hizo en UK!
Review by Tab Wilcox ★★★★½

An exhausting thesis of the warped sociology/psychology of Marine recruits against the backdrop of Vietnam. We see our characters start out bright-eyed and optimistic, then fall to the lowest pits of dehumanization as they fight against boot camp, the war, and, most importantly, themselves. Kubrick’s direction is par for the course—many wide shots with long takes engross the viewer and openly invite them to live this hell. Oft criticized is the film’s transition from boot camp to war around the halfway point—however, I believe the film’s thematic consistency is what holds these sometimes disparate pieces together. With some extremely engaging performances from R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D’Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket stands out as a war film that puts characterization above the spectacle of action.
Review by kubrickworship ★★★★½

The first 45 minutes are one of the best things in film history. The rest is good, but I really wish that the whole film took place in the boot camp.
Review by Menhera_Chan ★★★★½

I love a good war story. I think good war stories help us reflect on our selves in a way that other genres don't usually explore. Full Metal Jacket fully embraces this Idea by telling a story that's deep and thought provoking. The acting is top notch, There isn't a single weak link in the cast especially with Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. I think the amount of memorable lines he came up with speaks for itself. I can't think of a reason not to recommend it.
Review by Enigma71002 ★★★★½

I love how the first normal conversation started at the 18 minutes mark