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

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Metal Jacket, Pelny magazynek, Olovni kovčeg

drama war

117 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by maria ★★★★½ 11

straight line: ____________
dashed line: -- -- -- --
iconic line: YOU'RE SO UGLY YOU COULD BE A MODERN ART MASTERPIECE
Review by Noetic Hatter ★★★★½ 22

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 Karsten Runquist ★★★★½ 16

watched w family
Review by Matt Curione ★★★★★ 14

Fun Fact: Both halves are great it's just that children lose interest when a man isn't screaming in their face.
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 josh lewis ★★★★★ 4

the assembly line of human degradation and absolute cruelty we've constructed to make any sort of sense out of a world of shit. kubrick, in what i can only describe as sardonic hellfire mode, delivers the kind of movie that makes you wonder what exactly is "better" about being alive.
Review by Jacob Olsen ★★★★½ 16

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 thomas1995 ★★★★½ 12

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

THERE IS NO RACIAL BIGOTRY HERE. HERE, YOU ARE ALL EQUALLY WORTHLESS...
👇👇👇
letterboxd.com/thomas1995/list/1987-movies-ranked/
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PROS:
~The film depicts the war as a dehumanizing process that turns people into trained killers. The first part takes place in a boot camp and shows the loss of individuality for each soldier. The opening shaving scene points that this individuality will be soon lost. Full Metal Jacket is a true anti-war film that stares straight at the ugliness of war without preaching even a single time.
~Vincent D'Onofrio portrays Pvt. Pyle and this is definitely the best role of his career. In the beginning he looks naive and clumpsy and doesn't take the military lessons seriously, something that leads him into trouble. However,…
Review by Coolnilk ★★★★ 4

While it is admittedly true that the second portion of the film itself is not as strong as the initial half, Full Metal Jacket still favorably makes for a relatively solid war feature that realistically depicts the horrors of the Vietnam War quite well, and is one that is for sure efficiently directed by one of the most influential & greatest filmmakers ever, Stanley Kubrick.
With the first section of the film, Kubrick opts for a more unconventional approach that shows us a platoon of U.S. Marines going through essential boot camp training. This is where Full Metal Jacket shines the most as it prominently displays exceptional performances from just about everyone involved in this specific portion, especially R. Lee Ermey…
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.
Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★★

Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket assumes a partially journalistic inflexion which mostly abstains from taking a moral high ground and illustrates both the menial labour and action for a platoon of U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War. Kubrick was infamous for being scrupulous, and although the filmmaker consumed years preparing for the shoot, it eventually comprises fewer takes and captures more improvisation than any of his previous films.
Based on Gustav Hasford’s 1979 novel The Short-Timers, with a script co-written by Kubrick, it competently compares and contrasts the disgrace and regimentation of basic training with the conflict itself. However, where the movie surpasses itself is with its distinct characterisations and its cracking cast, which includes Matthew Modine and R. Lee Ermey. Full Metal Jacket fails to stand as Kubrick's masterpiece, but the portrayals are often unforgettable and frequently meaningful.

Recent reviews

Review by Flávio Augusto Mezadri Pizzol ★★★★★

Um conto que dialoga com as consequências do militarismo cego e exagerado, indo do treinamento brutal que serve para pouca coisa além de fazer lavagem cerebral nos soldados até a linha de frente de uma guerra vazia que ninguém sabe explicar.
É incrível como Kubrick começa a jornada em de tema comum na sua filmografia (Glória Feita de Sangue e Dr. Fantástico também tem um pouco dessa crítica ao amor dos EUA pelo seu exército), passeia por estéticas totalmente diferentes e chega ao fim com um estudo brilhante e cheio de ironia sobre a guerra com todas as suas idiossincrasias e absurdos.
Review by SEANB ★★½

Half of this was great, the other half was kinda wack
Review by Courtney ★★★★

Every time I watch a war movie I'm baffled that soldiers can just stand there with their sergeant screaming in their faces and not tear up. I'd take all that shit so personal.
Review by Angelo ★★★★★

Man, I forgot how much I loved this movie. Watching this again was like hearing a funny joke you heard a while ago and it’s just as funny as it was the first time.
To be honest, this is my personal favorite Stanley Kubrick film. I’ve seen Barry Lyndon and 2001 and The Shining and Strangelove- but there’s something about Full Metal Jacket that just sticks with me. It’s iconic lines, memorable scenes, and genius structure is just so damn good. I could really watch the whole thing again right now, just to experience it all over. And it will always be just as effective as it was the first time.
Review by Garrett Munson ★★★½

I can’t wait to rewatch this in the future. It will definitely be better on a second viewing.
Review by KinoContento ★★★★

Feels like I've seen traces, bits and pieces of this movie throught media consumption all my life, because this is a classic through and through. The beautiful shots of ravaged battlefields, the iconic performance of R. Lee Ermey, his energy conveying the feeling of authority and the weirdly fascinating relationship of an old-school boot camp. The soundtrack that's filled with appropriately used jams and some absolutely haunting tracks that compliment the tension and drama.
Yeah, the boot camp part of the movie is stronger than the latter half, doesn't mean the depiction of war with stunning settings and how a wide bunch of characters loose themselves in horrific situations isn't well done, but some of the action lacks tension and these killers don't understand line of sight. Also I didn't really understand the point of the narration, the theme of identity loss would've been stronger without a clear driver, but overall, this is a great film.
Review by Sol ★★★★

All I can think about is how in gilmore girls zach and brian compared mrs. kim to the drill sargent in full metal jacket and honestly they were not wrong.
Review by Isaque Junior ★★★★★

Vários futuros soldados raspam a cabeça enquanto uma música sobre a Guerra do Vietnam toca ao fundo. Essa é a abertura de Full Metal Jacket. Vários homens se despindo de suas personalidades, entregando-se a um mundo completamente diferente que visa, a qualquer custo, desumanizá-los e transformá-los em máquinas de matar. A primeira metade do filme é toda sobre o treinamento desses homens antes de partirem para a guerra. Nesse treinamento, eles são lembrados constantemente sobre a necessidade de matar e de sobreviver. Kubrick não abre espaço aqui para que o exército seja visto como salvador ou protetor ou qualquer outra coisa positiva, e sim como um esquadrão de extermínio. Se na primeira parte acompanhamos essa desumanização, na segunda vemos suas…
Review by shkemp ★★★★★

ain’t war hell
Review by Maywood ★★★★★

Flawless, no fat to be trimmed here whatsoever, everything in it's right place. I enjoy it as much every time I watch it and I've watched it many times over the course of 25 odd years.
Review by Marta Luvi ★★★★ 1

Never thought I'd enjoy two full hours of marine boys being marine boys but I've been wrong before
Review by Jessica Baxter ★★★★★

War is hell.